Staff editorial: Schedule should be more flexible for lunchtime events

For hundreds of students, preparation for Quad Day is a big deal.

Since August, members of the Class of 2017 have been working to perfect their Quad Day dances and skit. Choreographers have held countless practices after school and on weekends, and scriptwriters have spent hours fine-tuning jokes and plotlines.

To say the least, it’s sad when the lunch bell rings and these elaborate performances aren’t over yet, leaving students and teachers to wonder: Should the shows continue? Should they go to class at that moment?

Even after efforts by some seniors, the administration rejected the idea of extending the daily 35-minute lunch for their Quad Day. This is despite the fact that senior Quad Days in recent years often last 45 to 55 minutes.

The Quad Day situation might seem like a uniquely problematic one, but the problem lies in the schedule itself.

While the most frequently voiced concern had been over the lunch time because of difficulty of off-campus eating, many students had not realized that the new bell schedule failed to account for special events, especially those that are student-run.

Currently, the new rolling block schedule doesn’t make room for school spirit events that take place during lunch, even if they are as important and popular as Homecoming Quad Days. The new schedule seems to mandate that lunch is to remain at 35 minutes every day — with few or no exceptions. This time limit restricts the enjoyment of these events and generally results in students rushing last-minute to class, and classes right after lunch being shorter than other periods.

Even with 40 minute-long lunches last year, Homecoming Quad Days were not enough to accommodate for longer events like the Senior Quad day. This year, lunches are fixed at 35 minutes, and if the seniors’ Quad Day goes over the time limit — as it almost certainly wills — the extra time seems likely to be cut from fifth period only. Why not evenly distribute the time cut throughout the other periods as well, or shorten the tutorial period to allow for an extended lunch?  

The school already reduces class times for special events like rallies. The same should be true for significant lunchtime events like the seniors’ Quad Day. (Staff editorial written by Ryan Kim.)