Chloe Piña

After second period one day, students crowd the entrance to staircase A on the third floor.

Imagine: seventh period has just arrived and it’s finally time to go to your math class. You’re shoving past classmates who are crowded around the door, grabbing your heavy backpack and scurrying as quickly as you can. But while being pushed and bumped into from every angle, is escape even possible? 

You now stand amongst a cluster of fellow Baruchians stuck in a traffic jam. You wait approximately five minutes to even get onto the stairs. Once you are able to move, it is usually only a few paces. The unpleasant odor of teenage bodies begins to fill the air and the thick musk will linger in the halls for the remainder of your wait. 

Unfortunately, it only gets more crowded when you finally reach your destination on the third floor. You suddenly can no longer see the white walls of the Baruch hallways and begin to wonder if you will ever reach your class. As you are entering your designated classroom, late, of course, your teacher tosses you the most withering and disappointed glare, ruining your day. 

Despite Baruch College Campus High School’s small population, the hallways of the five floors do not seem to have enough room for its students during passing periods. Also, because of changes made to accommodate a second period advisory, passing periods have been cut short, making the rush even worse.

“Given the small, limited spaces we have in this tiny, cramped office building… the hallways get very crowded very easily,” said junior Jedediah Park.

Some students say the issue has an impact on their attendance. 

 “I have been… not exactly on time,” said freshman James Magazinnik.

Senior Sadie Brea, a managing editor for The 411 Press, has also experienced tardiness due to the congestion.

“I’ve been late to physics, and I had to go get a late pass,” she said. “I was only a couple minutes late, but it was because the third floor was so crowded. I couldn’t get from one end of the school to the other.” 

However, Baruchians concede a lot of teachers are empathetic of their toils, such as senior Kate Romalewski. She said “they don’t really ask questions when you walk in late.” 

Teachers at Baruch may be understanding of the situations surrounding commute times to class; but at what point is the lateness inexcusable?

The nature of Baruch’s halls can lead many to become easily frustrated and in need of a grade to blame for the situation. It seems as though the youngest population of the building are taking some accountability for the crowded hallways. 

Sophomore Val Ann expressed her frustration towards a lower grade. 

“The freshies are talking to each other and yapping all the time,” she said. “Basically, they need to stop talking and move to their classes.”

However, some students are more empathetic towards the youngest Baruchians.

“Sometimes you don’t realize ‘Oh, someone’s behind me and they’re trying to move past me’ or, you know, ‘Maybe I’m like accidentally holding up this big group of people because I’m talking to my friend and I just didn’t realize’,” she said. “I don’t wanna scapegoat any person, grade, entity, at all.”

Magazinnik spoke for his fellow ninth-graders.

 “I feel like freshmen, they are new, so they can be an issue to other grades, but at the same time I’ve seen lots of other grades talk on the stairways,” he said. “I think instead of blaming people, we should work to fix the situation.”

Some, such as Romalewski, believe the issue can be alleviated through the staggering of class end times, including dismissal time. However, she recognizes the situation still wouldn’t end well.

“That would obviously cause a lot of dissent among our classmates,” she said. 

Brea had another idea: “I think the… floors should be separated for each grade.” Sadly, some students also see this issue as a hopeless situation. 

Park has practically given up.

“[A solution is] pushing through everyone, I dunno,” he said. “Cause they don’t seem to move, they don’t seem to care.”