Excited to eat lunch, you walk out of your third-period class and go sit down at a table. Already cold, you realize you sat in a puddle of water. As you get up from your seat, the mist turns into a downpour of rain. Your lunch you were once excited to eat, is now a soggy pile of mush.
On rainy days, outdoor tables and benches are covered in water, making it difficult for students to sit comfortably at break and lunch.
With very few tables being under cover from the rain, many students bundle in the library or huddle under the covered tables. Without seating options, students are left to walk under the minimal covered areas of the hallway, trying not to get soaked, when their time should be spent relaxing and eating lunch.
The weather in California is highly unpredictable, and schools should be built to be prepared for that. Often days when the weather is supposed to be cloudy, there is an unexpected spout of rain. Planning for only “normal” California sunny weather is not enough, and it ignores unexpected conditions that can disrupt the school day.
Lunch and breaks are essential to a student’s day at school, and they can mean the difference between a highly stressful and busy day, versus a productive and comfortable day. Lunch is not only a time to replenish yourself with food, but also a time to rest mentally. Students need indoor or covered outdoor seating to help maintain normal routines during bad weather.
The lack of outdoor covered ground and seating could also cause injuries if certain areas were to become too wet. School’s main priority is to ensure students’ safety, and adding more coverage would be one of the solutions.
Generally, high schools are expected to have indoor or covered seating, especially for eating areas. There are key requirements from the California Code of Regulations. Some of them are that all schools should have protection from all types of weather. Title 5, California code of Regulations states “Multipurpose/cafeteria area (indoor or outdoor) shall be adequately sized and flexibly designed to protect students from the elements and to allow all students adequate eating time during each lunch period and to accommodate such uses as physical education activities, assemblies, and extracurricular activities.”
Seating for all different weather conditions needs to be revised.
