Here at Pelham Middle School, especially if you’re a 7th or 8th grader, you know the struggles of the cafeteria at lunch time. Students clump and gather at the snack line, waiting for that well deserved Izzy and Spicy Doritos after half a day’s hard work. But recently last year, our chefs introduced something called the Panini station. Since the recent development of this, students have been obsessing over them, and waiting in line for almost 30 minutes, and missing their precious recess time, just for their hot, pressed panini. So, is the line really too long? After about 15-25 minutes of standing in line, you get your prize (your hot, smoky panini), and I’ll bet after waiting for that long, even desert sand would taste that good, making the panini taste extra good. Overall people rate the flavor profile pretty high, and they really enjoy the sauces. The panini line offers a range of sauces like Italian dressing, ranch, hot sauce, thousand island etc. they also offer a wide range of meat, vegetables and whatever else you put in a panini. After hearing multiple responses, here’s what students of all grades have to say:

“I think the panini line is outrageous…I believe that the old allergy room should be turned into a self-serve, panini/salad bar. It also takes up my entire lunch period, not even letting me get a bite in. We really need to work on it.” – Paris Alsina, 8th grade.

 “The paninis are fine but the line is too long; we should be more civil with it at least. Honestly though, I would rather just get somethin’ from the snack bar” Emmett McGovern, 7th grade. 

After hearing multiple responses, these two stood out to me because I feel like they really agree with my point of view, and it’s nice to see that the paninis shouldn’t be so boy-band crazy. Overall, most people at Pelham Middle School agreed and the average answer was “No!”. 

So, what can we do to improve this? I honestly don’t know because our school is pretty crazy (and big) but, we can try to be more aware of our surroundings, and try not to cut anyone, and just be peaceful with it in general. So, if you believe the line is worth it, then great! Go get it girl! But if you don’t, try taking action and helping or letting others know if they have cut people by accident (more likely on purpose, but you get my point) and be kind about it. Hopefully with these small, but mighty improvements, we can make our school an even better place.