With construction of the auxiliary gym beginning, there was bound to be some intrusion on campus. All talk of it has been mostly positive, even from me, and I’m glad that we’re getting new facilities.

I was actually jealous of Antelope and Oakmont getting their new facilities before us. But now that construction is here and the wheels of progress are moving, we must adapt to the temporary intrusion on our campus.

Last Monday the walls went up. Obviously this is a necessary safety precaution but now there’s a narrow maze of a walkway set up between the 900s and the portables. Even before the fences, making it from the south side of the campus to a western portable during a six minute passing period was cutting it close.

Now it takes me the entire passing period just to get from senior square to a portable.

Bottlenecking is inevitable when you have hundreds of people trying to squeeze going two directions in a six foot walkway. It’s just going to happen. Things slow down.

We deal with this every day driving. Things merge down to one lane each way and things get backed up.

Unfortunately, it seems as though this issue was not foreseen.

There were some informational graphics sent out by administration to teachers that outlined the modified route but other than telling students to “find alternative routes” nothing was done.

In the real world, it’s easy to get around traffic – just leave earlier, account for it, and adjust your travel time to compensate.

At school you can’t just “leave early” or “find alternative routes.” There’s a set schedule. There is only one route. Six minutes between classes, a feat that’s already barely do-able, forget about even so much as glancing towards the restroom between classes.

So let’s account for increased travel time. Let’s be responsible and predict traffic will be bad. Passing period needs to be longer.

You don’t even have to take time out of classes. Add one minute to passing periods and take the time away from ROAR.

Granting an extra minute between classes would be a godsend. Fewer students would have to use the bathrooms during class times, fewer tardies and most importantly less stress.

I hear it nearly every day and understand the thought behind it. Students missing class to use the restroom is an issue.

I understand ROAR is a great time investment. I find myself using it to get work done nearly every day. However, I think I’m willing to sacrifice five minutes to be able to use the restroom, especially since those five minutes come out of a period where being out on campus is prohibited.

We’re making an investment in our campus, building a new gym. Let’s face it, this is the new normal at RHS. The wheels of progress are moving. Let’s make an investment for student well-being, it’s only natural.