When Waipahu High School students are not in class, they often occupy restrooms, hallways, and stairways. Most of our benches are located in areas where it is too sunny or rainy, depending on the weather that day. When students are not in class, they often look for places to eat their lunch or snacks. However, these places where students choose to take their breaks are often inconvenient. Additional tables and benches could help decrease these problems significantly and satisfy both students and staff. 

WHS has over 2,800 students on campus. There are around four tables and 100 benches that can fit four to five people. Even with the amount of benches we have around campus, there are unused benches. These benches range from places in front of Q building to U-shaped benches all around campus. The common reason students are not using these benches is their placement. 

These U-shaped benches are often in places where there is no shade to shield students from the sun or rain. This makes students disregard those benches and find more shaded areas. Many students don’t have places to eat their food and use surfaces such as water fountains or sidewalks. Other students eat their food in restrooms, which is unsanitary and contributes to overcrowding in these areas.

Freshman Jeaian Bio suggests that a good place for benches/tables would be near the murals outside of the band room: “I think it would benefit […] more people if we add more benches. I think so because often during lunch when I walk by, there are lots of people sitting on the floor eating lunch.”

Other areas where we could add more seating are in front of G and H building. With events like “Music Mondays,” students would want to be located close to these areas to listen to the music. These are also some of the most populated areas on campus during all times of the day. Placing a few benches in front of these classrooms would attract more students to participate in such events.

Another suggestion for adding more benches and tables would be in front of U building. The trees near the library provide shade and lead students away from loitering in hallways and stairways. This location is also close to the cafeteria, so many students would make use of these benches and tables during lunch time and other hours of the day. 

If any of these solutions were to be implemented, it would not only benefit students, but also help out teachers. They would not have to do as much maneuvering around students in stairways and hallways. These new areas with benches would provide safer areas for students to congregate. We would not have to inconvenience each other during school hours and overcrowd walkways that other students and staff have to use.

These are just some of the reasons why WHS would benefit from adding more tables and benches. Taking one step at a time to improve the school, even simply with seating, will help everyone.