The Student Activity Council (SAC) has passed a vote on installing traffic lights into every major intersection in the school’s halls. This includes the intersections of the english hall and family studies hall, the commons and gym hallway, and most desperately the moderns and math/science hallway. The lights are intended to improve the flow of traffic in the halls and remove traffic jams. Installation is set to take place during the summer of 2025.
Hallway traffic is the fourth highest cause of stress for students behind bullying, homework, and Mr. Chagani. The SAC is hoping to remove this stress from students with proper signage to encourage consistent orderly movement through the halls, as well as to add to the high school’s culture with new, inclusive signage.
As a SAC council member explained, “You see the issue is that the average North Park hallway goer lacks all common sense and any basic human decency. I’ve seen people crammed like sardines, pushed and shoved, and groups completely stop in the middle of hallways to chat, blocking hallways during the busiest of times. Hopefully the signs will reach through to them and fix that.”
We spoke with an expert in the field, who has spent most of their high school career in the halls of this school, and they told us, “Yeah those signs are getting ignored from day one. It might stop the grade nines, but no one else is going to notice them. Honestly I give it a month before someone manages to steal one. Total waste of effort.”
Unfortunately the 2024 student activity budget was already spent on hoodies, so this project will require the 2025 student activity budget. Be prepared for budget decreases towards most clubs here at North Park (excluding DECA), as tougher spending decisions are expected to come next school year. Although signage cost and potential results are a subject of heavy debate, the SAC are moving on to the next stage of their hallway plan as local contractors are to bid on the project in a week.
Photo Credits: Bal D.
THE NORTH STAR 