Any Danbury High School student can probably attest to this fact: the hallway situation of the school is abysmal. As we approach the middle of the second month of school, every intersection is constantly crowded between classes, students seem to move at a speed rivaling that of a tortoise, and it almost seems impossible to cross the sea of heads. Compared to last year, a period in which only around a quarter of the school was present at any given time for a maximum of five hours, DHS is now completely filled with over 3000 students. As a person that ends up speed walking and still barely manages to make it to class before the late bell, the question comes to mind: is five minutes really enough between classes? If not, what do we do about it?

Of course, everybody in the school has tasted the torture associated with traversing the hallways between periods. Junior Avery Canning specifically pointed out the “choke points” between the A3, D3, C3, and G3 Hallways. 

“I tend to avoid the D3 Bridge because of the traffic…I end up going through the B3 Hallways instead and it probably subtracts time even though [I am] going a longer route,” Canning said. “C5 is a big issue, there have even been times that I am the only one on time in class, and everyone else is late. The C stairwell set-up is also unnecessary for the most part, except for lunch waves.”

However, data obtained from a collection of students turned out to be much less exciting than expected. Students were told to walk at their normal pace, but without making any intentional stops and taking the most common route. On average, the four students walked for 4 minutes and 36 seconds between classes, with the maximum time between classes being a commute between E2 and C5 that lasted 6 minutes and 26 seconds, for which the student was not penalized.

The second highest time was also for a commute to C5, demonstrating the impact that traffic—along with sheer distance—has on students with classes in the wing. Therefore, any changes to policy should be made at the teacher’s discretion, especially if the teacher is aware of a potential obstacle that the student has to face between classes. 

Of course, other routes may also result in a student being tardy to their class, and students all walk at differing paces, although it can be assumed that these situations would warrant an exception. The experiments were conducted with a variety of students and despite the group being somewhat representative of the DHS demographic, Danbury High School is incredibly diverse and this small sample simply cannot encompass the entire 3000+ population. 

The current schoolwide policy for tardiness is that 3 tardies per class result in a detention. However, if you follow any rules that are applicable for the transition between classes: socially distancing yourself, following signs, wearing a mask, etc; you are more than likely to get to class on time. If not, talk to your teacher as needed, and see what you can do.