As a senior in high school, I have learned a thing or two when it comes to hallway common courtesy.  Now, I get it. The passing period is a nice short break in your day to see your friends, listen to music and just get your body moving. But this doesn’t mean you don’t have to be aware of your surroundings. 

If you’re reading this thinking “I’ve never had trouble walking in the halls!” I’m here to inform you that you are the problem. As a fellow student, and hopefully a decent person, you have to understand that the world does not revolve around you. This also applies to the halls of these schools. They are for everyone. So in order to raise awareness I have come up with a short list of rules – some of which are common sense – to help my fellow Redhawks understand the rules of the road.

Don’t congregate in the middle of the hall.

I cannot tell you how many times I have to barge through a group of underclassmen almost every day. You’re more than welcome to talk to your friends during passing periods, but there are plenty of spaces for you to chat. None of these include the middle of a busy hallway. 

If you’re walking with a group, stay to the side.

There will be groups of people  (usually underclassmen) blocking the entire hallway when I need to book it to my next class. It’s annoying, and frankly rude due to how little spatial awareness they have. Walking from class to class with friends is super fun, and I do it too, but I also understand that people have places to be, so I stay to the side for people to walk around us easily. It’s the polite and courteous thing to do. 

Don’t walk in horizontal lines on the stairwell.

This is more of a safety thing. All stairways in the school have people going up and down at the same time, so if a group of people are all walking up while another person is trying to go down, you have to dodge them, which is pretty dangerous if someone loses balance. To avoid possible injuries and accidents, I suggest walking up with no more than two people at a time. 

 If you bump into someone, acknowledge it, and say sorry.

This one is just basic human 101. Don’t be a jerk who completely blows that person off if you accidentally bump into someone. It happens all the time, and no one will care if you just acknowledge it. Be a decent person and say sorry. It’s not that big of a deal.

Walk faster.

I do not have all day and cannot stroll behind you and your slow friends. If you are a slower walker that’s totally fine, just stay to the side so the quicker walkers can get by without any issues. You are not the only person walking during passing periods, so be aware and respect people’s time.