The cafeteria at Staples High School has an legandary unwritten rule: freshman during their lunch periods must sit in the freshman “ghetto,” a section of the cafeteria directly to the left of the entrance. It has freshman piled on top of each other scrummaging for any open seats they can find.

In contrast, the senior section is known for its abundance of rectangular tables, which can seat up to six students on either side. This style of seating is enjoyed by students much more than the circular tables that engulf the “ghetto.”

This feeling of being trapped, however, is certainly one that many seniors don’t experience while they enjoy their lunches in the “senior section.”

Erica Hefnawy ’15, who has worked up the ranks from the freshman “ghetto” to the senior section, must admit that the “ghetto” is much more cramped in comparison to the senior section.

“While sitting in the freshman section, it is very hard to bond with your friends because you feel so claustrophobic,” Hefnawy said. “In the senior section, it’s much nicer because everyone is much more relaxed about finding places to sit. There is no stress.”

Maddy Sampath ’16, who has yet to even experience sitting in the “senior section” of the cafeteria, regards the freshman “ghetto” to be one of the worst sections of the cafeteria.

“Now that I sit in the junior section, I could never go back to the freshman section,”  Sampath said. When we sat in the freshman ‘ghetto,’ my friends and I would always be sitting on each other’s laps or kneeling, but now we have enough space for everyone.”

“The freshmen ‘ghetto’ was just always packed because of the circular tables that only hold eight kids. But I was down for the closeness. The  ‘senior section’ is better because it’s a lot more open and has the long rectangular tables,” Max Wimer ’15 said.

Wimer, a senior himself, has also experienced the struggle that all freshmen must overcome as a rite of passage in high school: eating lunch in the “ghetto.”

To all the freshman out there, Staples students understand the large struggle of eating lunch in the freshman “ghetto.” A tornado of chaos that forces students to practically eat their meals on top of one another. However, all students who enter Staples must accept this challenge.