By Gavin Brunamonte,
Staff Writer.
Every break and lunch students crowd the cafeteria line, creating a slow-moving and disorganized mess. Though this routine crowding is expected because everyone wants to get food first, an issue arises when a multitude of students completely impede the flow of traffic by pushing past everyone else or jumping over the railing to cut the line. It doesn’t help that going through the cafeteria itself can be a slow process.
Although the lines overflow quickly, they typically clear out after five or six minutes, so they’re evidently functioning to a minimum. However, the line could be much faster if students were not able to cut or jump the line. When people force their way into the line it causes one person to stop, then the person behind them and the person behind that one, creating a chain reaction that forces part of the line to completely stop. If this was not the case, the line could continuously move without any stops, creating a much shorter wait time for everyone in line.
Beyond the fact that cutting slows the line down, it is also incredibly disrespectful to everyone else as it causes a slower journey for dozens while allowing one person to get to the same destination slightly faster. One reason students jump the line is the fear that the cafeteria will run out of a specific item. “The people who choose to cut the line simply continue to do so, not out of malicious intent, but out of a lack of respect for their peers,” said freshman Keith Erikson, a daily participant in the lunch line scramble.
Not only does line-cutting severely slow down the wait time for everyone else, it’s also incredibly disrespectful to everyone who got there first. The easiest ways to mitigate this problem would be by forming a single file line and waiting patiently as opposed to unfairly pushing past everyone else.
