The new building has been in operation for almost two full years now, and yet students and staff still wonder why the courtyard, as one of the main features of the new school, has not been put to use.  In the old building, students and staff were able to cut across the courtyard to pass from one side of the building to the other more quickly between classes.  Students have been wondering why this privilege has been taken away from them in the new school.  The Breeze sat down with Mr. Lanczycki, the principal of Somerset-Berkley Regional High School, to discuss the controversy that surrounds the courtyard issue.

Mr. Lanczycki says the courtyard is actually not being neglected.  Students from Mrs. Gloster’s class and some of the art classes use the area when the weather is nice.  Teachers are actually allowed to take their students into the courtyard as long as they are out there to supervise.  However, Mr. Lanczycki says that the main purpose of the new courtyard is not for its place on the ground.  “The reason for the courtyard,” he says, “is for the walls.”  By building the school around a centralized courtyard, it allows for an increased number of classrooms to have natural light.  Without the courtyard at its center, roughly half of the classrooms that have natural light in them might not have any sunlight, and therefore, maybe no windows at all.

Students may wonder why the courtyard cannot fulfill both purposes–letting in natural light while providing a space for the students pass through during passing time or spend free time during studies.  The problem with letting people into the courtyard is that it “echoes quite a bit.  You have about half of your school in that area, which is a disturbance to everyone in those classrooms if you’re hearing people in the courtyard,” says Mr. Lanczycki.  Another problem that contributes is that there would not really be any supervision if students were allowed in the courtyard.  “I don’t have enough staff to supervise it,” he states.

The courtyard has also arisen the question of Senior Privilege and where it fits into the usage of the courtyard.  Mr. Lanczycki told The Breeze about how, during his senior year in the old school, students were allowed to go to the cafeteria and do whatever they wanted during a study period.  He states that “my class didn’t necessarily do the right things, so Senior Privilege was taken away until last year when I took over.”  Senior Privilege now includes the outside eating area, in which Mr. Lanczycki says that there have been incidents out there as well.  Therefore, he says that the courtyard will “probably not [be opened in the future to students and staff more than it already is] because there’s just no supervision.”

He says that he understands why the students think it is unfair that courtyard is not available to them for regular use because “it has a lot to do with the fact that students haven’t thought about why the courtyard is really there.”  Students tend to not see his perspective right away and automatically assume, in Mr. Lanczycki’s words, “‘he’s just trying to hold us down!  He’s a dictator!'”  It is impossible to please everyone with this issue.  While students will believe that it is unjust that they do not get to use the courtyard, other groups of people within the town will likely believe that it is unfair if the students do use it and are ruining the courtyard that their taxes have paid for.  He encourages students to approach him directly if they are not content with the way some of the aspects of the new building are handled.  “I get it,” says Mr. Lanczycki, “everybody wants to do everything, but sometimes we have to be smarter and make sure we take care of things the right way.”