Change in O-room decor offers multitudinous improvements
West has once again surprised students with its allocation of funds, this time in the form of new tables in the O room. Like any change, some are pleased, while others, not so much. Some feel the money put toward all new tables should have gone to extending air conditioning to more of the school, rather than something as minor as new tables. What these people don’t recognize are the difficulties the old tables brought about, and the convenience of their replacements.
The old tables made it extremely hard to move around in order to get food and get to a spot. Tables would be pushed one way or another, ultimately creating chaos throughout the already hectic lunchroom. In order to get around the tables, student diners would have to map out a route, looking for open gaps between tables, carefully stepping over people’s backpacks, even having to ask people to move out of the way. It was a pure hassle if you forgot to grab a utensil and had to trek back through the winding maze of tables and chairs.
Not everything about this was worse than the room’s current situation, as there are now stools, rather than chairs with backs, causing students to complain of discomfort. While this could likely be solved with proper posture, it can’t be disregarded that the old chairs provided more comfort
As always, safety proves the main concern among students and teachers alike, unsurprisingly in the lunchroom too. Crowds of students all clustered together creates worry as there is an extremely uneven ratio of students to teachers during lunch. In the event of a fire, tornado, or any other dangerous situation, the old tables had dozens of chairs that would be scattered one way or another, potentially blocking students’ routes of escape. Thankfully, the new tables have attached stools, meaning students can easily maneuver throughout the room, creating a much more efficient and safe environment.
The new decor can only be a boon to West’s hard-working custodians. Every day they sweep the O room, cleaning it of any spills or dirt, which is inevitably there from the mass of messy high schoolers. With the old tables, the chairs would get in the way and it would be extremely inconvenient to have to get in between them everyday. The new tables have chairs attached, and do not touch the ground at all. Therefore, it is going to be a whole lot easier to get under the tables, resulting in a cleaner O room, and a slightly lighter workload for the school’s cleaning staff.
In the past, when the O room needed to be cleared, it was hard to move the old tables as they did not have any wheels. The new tables and their attached stools can be easily folded in half vertically, and rolled away to wherever they need to be moved.
Overall, the new tables are a positive improvement to the school, which no one saw coming.
by Merideth Stellpflug
Published November 27 2023
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue II