After a year of students listening to construction during classes and staring at a brick wall during lunch, the school’s renovated commons, bathrooms and gym floor are finished, and EHS students’ opinions are split. 

The largest addition to the building this year is the expanded, 8,000-square-foot cafeteria, which is almost double the area of the commons last year, according to Principal Alex Fox. 

Along with new tables, windows and a variety of seating options, the renovated cafeteria has significantly increased capacity to match the growing student population at EHS.

Many students are glad to have a larger and more comfortable commons to eat their lunch in.

“I like how the lunchroom has expanded twice in size,” senior Zara Omotala said. “Although it is still crowded, there are finally windows and even different varieties of tables, which I love.”

Additionally, the new seating, including stools, chairs and couches, and the natural light from the windows create an aesthetic similar to college cafeterias that some students appreciate. 

To test the commons expansion, the school has kept students in the area for lunch and restricted previous spots, such as the D-gym on the second floor and the tables outside the cafeteria, and some students wish they had more options for where to go.

“I think the commons looks really good, but I think [the admin] should still allow the D-gym to be available for people who get overstimulated in the main cafeteria,” sophomore Madeline Feldmann said.

For students who were at EHS last year, the change to lunch time requires getting used to. However, the freshman class is glad that their first experience of the school is after the renovations were completed.

“I love [the renovations],” freshman Bella Pizziferro said. “They are so helpful for me as a freshman. The new commons always make sure me and my friends have somewhere to sit.”

Within the commons’ expansion is another new installation: Tiger Bites. Similar to Tiger Den, the cash-only shop offers grab-and-go food and drinks such as cheese sticks and juice boxes, and students are happy to have more options to fill their stomachs. 

“The Tiger Bites are amazing,” Pizziferro said. “There is a ton of food and yummy snacks and drinks that I love!”

Although the bigger commons and Tiger Bites are mostly liked by EHS, the new bathrooms in the lobby are much more divisive. 

When construction began last spring, the unisex bathroom featuring floor-to-ceiling stalls faced some backlash from adults in the community, and now that students are using it, the controversy continues.

Some don’t like the stalls and think they’re cramped and “look like prison stalls,” while others are uncomfortable with the lack of gender separation.

“I feel unsafe about the new bathrooms because I do not want to be in the same restroom as the opposite gender,” senior Soha Rahman said. 

According to Fox, the bathrooms were overhauled to provide a larger and more private restroom people could use when at the school for sports games or other events.

Along with the additions, the main gym’s floor was fully restored over break, allowing for P.E. classes and sports games to be held inside. Last year, all volleyball games were moved to Liberty Middle School after the gym was damaged by a broken sewage pipe. 

Despite mixed opinions on the changes, it’s undeniable that students’ experience of the school will be different going forward, but they will find ways to adapt and use the new layout.

“I feel like it’s a nice update to the building since there are more students and opportunities,” sophomore Zavier Miller said. “Expanding the commons and adding Tiger Bites will help with all the cramming in the lunchrooms and hallways. The gender-neutral bathrooms help us move on from being separated.”