The sections in the cafeteria are obvious the moment you walk in: each grade’s students usually stick to sitting in their own section. It’s not a written rule, but it is an expectation that most students follow. While some might see this division as unnecessary, I think that this setup has become a practical way to keep the cafeteria organized and make lunch feel more manageable for everyone by being able to sit with their peers.

   “It’s good that people still get a choice, and it’s not a strict arrangement,” said freshman Viggo Thomesen. “If you have friends in other grades, you can just go back and forth.”

   I think that students should generally follow the sectioning seating arrangement because that way no other students from different grades get mad that lowerclassmen or upperclassmen are in their section. It is also just easier if students sit with their friends from their grade.

   “I like when people sit in their sections because it makes everyone all organized,” said sophomore Isabelle Chessler.

   Some students think it’s better to sit in the upperclassmen sections because they have better seats, but I disagree because it can be unfair if it means people can’t sit with their friends.

   “It can be a little annoying when you’ve been waiting to sit down for so long and you see a freshman in your section, especially when you never sat in the senior section as a freshman,” said senior Leah Berger.

   It is frustrating when groups of people sit at tables from sections that they don’t belong to, so I think people should just stay in their own section.

   “I think it just makes sense when everybody is in their assigned section; it’s the norm,” said Chessler.

   A benefit from sitting with your grade during lunch is the bonding factor that comes with it.

   “I feel like the more I sat with people from my grade, the better I got to know more people I would be in classes with for the rest of the school day, even outside of lunch,” said senior Margaret Liu.

   Additionally, something good that comes from staying in your section is that you get to learn more about peers in the same age group as you.

   “When I sat with people from my grade in the cafeteria, I got closer with them, some to the point where we could hang out outside of school,” said Thomsen.

   An additional benefit is for the underclassmen who could be intimidated by the high school, so sitting with their grade could make things more comfortable for them.

   “I think that especially for the freshman, it’s better to sit with kids from your grade because your first year at high school can be scary,” said Chessler

   Another reason why this arrangement works well is because the sections prevent overcrowding and confusion during lunch periods.

   “If we spent the entire lunch period looking for a place to sit, then we wouldn’t have much time actually eating our lunch,” said Thomsen.

   Those who assume that students find this sectioning to be discriminatory may be missing some of the truth about its benefits, especially for freshmen and other new students to WHS who may find comfort in knowing how things work.

   “I remember when I was a freshman and I was getting a tour of the school, I was told that there weren’t necessarily ‘assigned seating’ in the cafe, but you were expected to sit in your section,” said sophomore Raymond Kwok. “It didn’t feel like I was being thrown to the wolves or anything. It felt like I had joined a big welcoming community, so then I wouldn’t sit in the wrong section on the first day of school.”

   The greatest benefit to this organization is that it creates a more comfortable environment during lunch and no one is stressed on where to go.

   “Nobody is forcing anyone to sit anywhere, but when everybody respects the usual sections, lunch feels more organized and fair for everybody,” said Liu.