The old, pre-COVID cafeteria setup is back! Monday, October 18th, SHS administration announced that lunch for all students would return to being held in the cafeteria–with seniors having the option to eat in the senior cafe or PAC lobby. This news came as a bit of a shock to SHS students, as there had been little to no prior knowledge about this migration back. When asked about the decision, SHS Principal Dr. Maguire stated that “it was always our goal to get back to one cafeteria.” The administration had decided in months prior to reconvene in October to see whether or not moving back to a one-cafeteria setup was possible. “We looked at what other schools were doing, our vaccination rates, and how having two cafeterias was a strain on resources here,” Maguire explained, regarding the factors that went in to this decision. The small tables used in the gym will remain in storage for the time being, but Maguire informed that the school “can use them for anything we need,” including PSATs and SATs.

This shift, however, has not come without a fair deal of push-back and criticism from students. SHS senior Jeremy Guyette stated that simply put, he felt the transition was “bad and dumb.” Guyette further explained that he “liked eating lunch in the big gym” and that compared to the new setup, “it was easier to meet up with friends to eat with them.” SHS senior Avery Shaw shared Guyette’s opinion, declaring the gym setup provided “a lot more freedom to move around desks and sit with people, whoever you wanted to. Now, you’re sorta more limited because of the tables.” 

Nevertheless, both seniors expressed their excitement for the return of the senior cafe. , which had been out of use for the last year-and-a-half due to COVID.  Guyette emphasized the positive response of seniors for “the senior cafe being back.” While Shaw also expressed joy in its return, he also stated that he “wishes the senior cafe had more seats.” 

No matter the public reaction, the old cafe setup is back–seemingly for good.