The Commons, home to shiny linoleum floors and the echoing chatter of students’ conversation, is the new site of Study Hall starting September 2024. But why did this change happen?
In previous years, Study Hall was located in the wings of the Playhouse; Commons 2 and 3 housed Sub Study during class hours. Now, Study Hall is in the Commons, and students with absent teachers go to the New Theater.
“It was a joint move,” said Assistant Principal Valerie Rodriguez. “One wasn’t going to move without the other one moving.”
During the first assembly of the year, administration informed students that the relocation of Sub Study was done to prevent class-cutting and to keep students in one place. The New Theater has limited exits, which allows for easier supervision.
The main reason that Study Hall moved, according to Ms. Rodriguez, was that “not everyone had a seat and a table before.” In the Commons, “Every student has a chair and a table. You can sit with friends, and you can do work and collaborate in a better setting for a Study Hall.”
“The Playhouse was getting a little bit destroyed too,” she added. The cushions on the backs of the chairs were actually falling away from the chairs’ metal frame due to students resting their feet there.
Students like Vivaan Bartariya (‘26) are fond of the switch to the Commons. “I’m able to focus more,” said Bartariya. “No one is playing with the lights, and there’s a lot less tomfoolery. It’s way quieter.”
But some students disagree. “Last year was so much better,” said Tina Meng (‘26). “This year, it’s so loud and annoying and there’s food everywhere.”
Bartariya said, “Overall, Study Hall is a pretty empty place during second period with only 26-28 people.” But Meng said, “The first moments of the period are very crowded.” This is not a difference in opinion: Meng’s Study Hall is actually more crowded than Bartariya’s.
According to Ms. Rodriguez, “There are still two Study Halls that are much larger than others.” She attributed the size difference between periods to scheduling conflicts.
Another thing that has changed is the noise level in the Commons. “Some of the horseshoe classes randomly come into Commons 2 to work. They can be loud and disruptive,” said Bartariya.
An additional source of disruptive noise is the maintenance hallway in Commons 3. “A bell rings when deliveries happen,” said Ms. Rodriguez. “It catches me off guard too. It’s not a fire alarm;, it’s no danger;, it’s a delivery. And that’s the very loud noise that happens.”
Even though South’s Commons can have disruptions every now and then, students generally have an effective space to relax, socialize, and work. And most importantly to the adults in the building, more students are where they are supposed to be.
“We never wanna make a phone call home and say, ‘this happened in our building today, and I’m not sure where your kid is,’” Ms. Rodriguez said. “We always have to look through the lens of safety and security.”
