We all know that COVID-19 has brought tons of changes to literally everything. Obviously there have been social distancing protocols put in place in all sorts of areas. For school, desks have been placed six feet apart, there is less group work, and no desks pushed together to make tables. Lunch is a whole ‘nother story… 

The beginning of the year started out great in the lunchroom department in my opinion. As far as I know, I was happy sitting at a socially distanced table, six feet away from other tables in every possible direction.

Although there were students sitting in the bleachers and designated student desks at the time, I was sitting at an actual table- one that I could actually set my food down on and eat. 

That right there is one thing no one ever thinks about- the privilege of eating at an actual table and sitting in a chair with a backrest. 

Being perfectly content with my seat in the lunchroom, I was shocked one day after receiving an email with new seating assignments. I was tragically moved from my amazing table in the cafeteria to a student desk on the mezzanine, located in the school gym. 

This particular seat was actually just fine for third quarter. Although I was six feet farther away from my friends, I still was privileged enough to have some sort of surface to eat my food off of and a chair to sit in.  

Then another tragedy struck when fourth quarter rolled around; our desks were occupied by another set of students, and we had to move into the bleachers.

The bleachers: where students and family watch their peers and family members play volleyball or basketball… Or where students eat their lunches thanks to COVID-19.

Don’t get me wrong, I am so blessed to be provided an area to sit and eat lunch, but it does get tiring having to set food in my lap and not on a table. 

When we were moved to the mezzanine, it seemed like they purposely switched the freshmen with the juniors. Maybe it was an accident, but it definitely seems like they are favoring the underclassmen. I could just be overthinking this, but after two years of sitting on mezzanines I thought that maybe after becoming upperclassmen, we would finally get the privileges of sitting in the cafeteria. 

Now let’s talk about the trash: obviously kids can be messy and trash can be left at times. But, the amount of wrappers, food, and spills that we have to endure on a daily basis in the bleachers is a little too much. The least you can do to be a nice person is clean up after yourself, and clearly the kids who eat before me lack those manners.

Another one of the many downsides to sitting in the bleachers is the actual sitting itself. I, already having terrible posture, struggle with not having a backrest and tend to slouch (a little too much). Especially since there are no tables, sitting in the bleachers is even more awkward. 

To be fair, COVID-19 has made a bunch of things worse and made life a little more difficult, but that does not make me miss sitting at a table any less. 

In conclusion, please consider our struggles and notice how much the bleachers suck. 

Sincerely, a very upset student.