We ask the school to end assigned seating in the auditorium at lunch so all students have fair seating choices while the auditorium remains divided if needed.

Since the sixth graders were moved into the middle school, lunch has been split so that half of the students eat in the cafeteria and the other half eat in the auditorium. This change has already made lunch feel shorter and more rushed. In the cafeteria, students must stay in only one half of the room, which makes it much more crowded than before. For students sent to the auditorium, there is another unfair rule: we are required to sit in assigned seats. That means students in the auditorium do not have the same freedom that students in the cafeteria have to choose where they sit.

As 8th graders, we feel this is not fair. Lunch is the only time we get to unwind and take a break after being in class for 4 to 5 hours. We understand that the school needs space for the new sixth graders, and we are not asking for the current lunch system to be completely changed. We are simply asking for a small but important fix: remove assigned seating in the auditorium, while still keeping the auditorium divided if and when necessary.

Allowing students in the auditorium to choose their seats would make lunch feel more balanced, more respectful, and more like a real break. We respectfully ask the school to treat students in the auditorium the same way students in the cafeteria are treated and to restore fair lunch seating for everyone.