When Mr. Robertson opened the Senior Courtyard to juniors last Thursday, it may have come as a shock to many students. Access to the courtyard has been limited to seniors in years past as one of their privileges, and the backlash of complaining seniors could have been ugly.
Luckily, Mr. Robertson planned for this. Before making the transition, he asked the Senior Class President, Kat DiIonno, to help him decide how her class would react. “When Mr. Robertson proposed the idea to me I was skeptical because as a Senior I’ve always been excited for our special privileges,” she said, “but after thinking about it and getting opinions over the summer, I realized the excitement is leaving for lunch. A junior who is stuck here would appreciate it more.” She found that most of her classmates felt the same.
One of the possibilities was opening up the courtyard to all grades. “I would not want freshman waltzing into the school and automatically getting to eat in the courtyard because I feel like it is a right of passage. I like the idea of an upperclassmen courtyard,” senior Shira Buchsbaum noted. Many of her peers agree. The idea of sharing the courtyard with one grade is okay for most seniors, but the idea of sharing with three other grades is too radical. Space would also be an issue if all the grades were granted access.
A week after the change was implemented, everything is running smoothly. There is enough room in the courtyard for both grades. All of the hard work that is put into keeping up with the courtyard can now be appreciated by both grades.