After administration reconsideration, the orange tables near the Tiger Drive entrance have made a comeback this year after being removed in early January.
At the start-of-school assembly, Principal Henry Turner announced the decision to move the furniture back to Tiger Drive. The deans remain hopeful that the student body will be able to maintain their cleanliness, he added.
Over the course of the last school year, the cleanliness of the tables decreased significantly, according to Barry House dean Nicholas Capodilupo. Despite attempts by the administration to remind the student body to clean up, no improvements were seen.
“There had been at least a dozen times where we approached the area around Main Street and found huge messes there,” added Capodilupo. “Bottles, cans, food scraps, UberEats orders, when there is a trash can right there.”
Security footage was used to identify students who were leaving messes. In some cases, the administration involved students’ families, according to Capodilupo.
“We didn’t want to penalize everybody for other people’s actions, so we had to individualize,” he said. “This response may seem extreme but it was only necessary and the decision wasn’t just sudden and due to one event. It was a build-up of so many different incidents.”
According to junior Mia Chavez Dwyer, the tables on Main Street were a great environment to get work done. “They provide an alternate place to work other than the library and Newtonville. I liked having the option to work there, so I’m glad they were moved back,” she said.
After multiple instances where the tables were found dirty, the administration decided that they were not worth the upkeep, according to Capodilupo.
“We thought it was a great space for kids to work but the student body needs to figure out a way to use them correctly without staff having to pick up after them,” said Capodilupo. “Main Street is a great place to work, but if the students don’t find a way to manage the mess, we can’t leave the tables there.”
Turner said, “It is a new year, and we want to give students an opportunity to prove that they can be respectful in that area.”
