Supersize Me: Problems arise with the number of students increasing

The quad is packed, the lunch line is endless and students are walking sideways through the halls trying not to bump into each other. Since when did so many students walk the halls of this school?

This year, the school is more crowded than any time in recent years. With only 327 students in the graduating class last year and 370 freshmen this year, the school has experienced a substantial 3.5 percent one-year growth. This increase has strained resources and has made some on-campus tasks that were easier in the past more difficult.

Another disadvantage of the bigger population is the longer lunch lines, which makes for impatient and restless students. The lines are so long that some students end up getting their meals almost halfway through lunch. In addition, if many students want the same item to eat (e.g., a B.L.T. from the Grab & Go line), the item runs out extremely fast, sometimes even within the first 10 minutes of lunch.

Along with limited food, the school has many other limited resources. This includes fewer textbooks in the library and the classrooms to lend out to students. Also, there aren’t enough computers in the library for everyone who wants to use them.

There are many instances when there aren’t any seats available in the library and students have to wait in line. With more students, the line could become even worse.

This surge has also negatively impacted extracurricular programs, such as sports and music. The increase in students increases the competition to join sports teams; thus, more students are cut and excluded from these activities.

As for orchestra, most students usually pay for their own uniforms and instruments if they play a viola or violin. However, for bigger instruments like the cello and stringed bass, students are allowed to borrow from the school. If more students are interested in those bigger instruments, the school has more instruments to buy, which is expensive.

If the trend in increased musical interest continues, this could be costly for the school and this could possibly lead to the introduction of tryouts and cuts into these programs.

The problem isn’t major at the moment, but if the student population continues to increase, there could be a problem. The school is struggling as it is to accommodate 1,393 students. As the size increases, so do the problems. The school must compensate and after a certain point, they will be incapable of doing so effectively.

For now, the school can do a few things to help with these problems. They can try to separate the hot lunch line, which is always the longest, in two and they can also provide more textbooks and computers for the library. However, these changes are only temporary and cost quite a bit of money.

For the future, if the school size keeps growing, bigger changes need to be made. The school could expand and build more classrooms, hiring more teachers in the process. They could also expand the parking lot, to accommodate for the increased number of student drivers. They could even expand the library, making it easier for students to get textbooks they need.

These expansions are very costly and maybe even impossible given the space needed and today’s economy. But if the school keeps getting more and more students in the future, the school has to do something.