The hallways are teeming when two boys emerge from English class, one clutching a plastic container of cereal. His friend nudges him. “Mr. Shelby’s over there.” Cereal Boy flinches, and involuntarily drops his snack. In an instant, the container falls to the floor, its lid splitting open, Fruit Loops rolling underfoot like plastic beads.

This is but one of the panicked moments that students have experienced in the last few weeks, as SCHS unveiled a new policy on food in the hallways this year. Where students had previously been able to carry food around, provided that they were not eating it, any visible food can now be confiscated when students are walking through the main building.

The administration tried to soften the blow as it introduced the policy at this year’s back-to-school class assemblies. “If you have food in your backpack, if we can’t see it, that’s not something we can punish,” principal Gregory Shelby pointed out during the senior assembly.

But this “out of sight, out of mind” policy has some students irritated. Since most of the food sold by the school cafeteria comes on plates, which are not hallway-viable, students who buy lunch at school are limited to only portable options, which may sacrifice quality, if they want to attend club meetings or other lunchtime events indoors.

“What am I supposed to do?” senior Sarah Lee asked. “Do I just stick a plate of rice in my backpack and let it get all over my books so I can go to clubs?”

Other students complained about the quality of the portable food available – generally, wraps and pizzas – noting that the student with a discerning palate has far fewer options if they have indoor activities at lunch. Senior Huong Chau agreed.

“This means I can either go to a club or eat, not both,” she said. “And since I have a club almost every day, I usually just don’t eat.”

Though students who bring their lunches to school are spared the cafeteria quandary, some, like Junior Folau Naufahu, still object to the new rules. Naufahu said he thought that prohibiting students from carrying sealed drink bottles in the hallways was unreasonable.

The main building bears blue placards on every door and along the walls, reminding students that food is not allowed. According to vice principal Chandra Henry, violations were common during the first few weeks of school, but are tapering off as students adjust to the new policy.

The policy was put in place to prevent any new infestations by bugs or rats, said Henry. “We’ve had those in the past, and it’s something we really want to avoid with the new building.”

The inauguration of this year’s renovated campus came with a number of regulations, including new boundaries set around the science wing, where students are no longer allowed to go during lunch. But it is the hallway policy that seems to have attracted the most criticism, garnering complaints on pages like SCHS Confessions.

“It’s a struggle for students,” Henry acknowledged. But, she said, the trouble is worth it to preserve the clean new campus.