Riley High School- A Guide to Navigating the Halls

If you had to pick one thing Riley High School is known for, what would it be? While there are many things that may come to mind, one that most people can agree on is this: The Stairs. When students first come to Riley, it can be a bit confusing to navigate. Trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B in 5 minutes or less when you have 4 floors to factor in can seem intimidating. Luckily, there are plenty of people who have been here for a few years and have learned their way around.

Side stairs A (front of the building)

So, let's start off easy. How do you walk in a hallway? It may seem simple, but sometimes hallway etiquette can get lost in the sea of students. So, what do some experienced Wildcats say? Senior Jesse Kirkland put it simply, “Kind of like roads, just stick to the right side.” Mr. Hardman backed this up with some reasoning. He explained, “Obviously on both sides of all the floors, you kind of have to squeeze your way through, it's a bottleneck sometimes, so trying to open that up, continuing to walk on the right side of the hallway.” When you stick to the right side, it makes the traffic flow of the hallways much more efficient. 

Of course, even if you’re following proper hallway etiquette, other people might not be. As Mr. Hardman told me, “It's coming together and having these big groups in the hallways that then disrupt the flow of traffic for everybody else.” 

Side stairs B (front of the building)

If you’ve ever had to go through the middle section of the third floor during a passing period, you know that's accurate. It can be hard to map out a route through a big group of kids. So what can be done from the students perspective? Senior Allie Park told me the method she uses to get around the big groups. “I usually just try to follow one person and see where they're walking, and then just walk behind them and see where the gap is, or just try to avoid them.” Look for the gaps between people, and don’t be afraid to go through.

Jesse gave another good piece of advice by adding, “Kinda stick to one side of the hallway, keep your eyes locked on where you want to go. If you're going down one hallway, you can see the stairwell, look right at the stairwell. People look at you, see your eyes, and they’ll follow and be like, ‘oh, that person is trying to go this way, I'll move.’” Focus on where you want to go and people will move around you.

That brings us back to the hallway etiquette. When you do have to kind of push your way past somebody, remember to use your manners! A simple ‘excuse me’ goes a long way, and if you bump into somebody, a passing ‘sorry’ or ‘my bad’ helps! 

Side stairs C (back of the building)

Speaking of passing words in the halls, that’s another problem to avoid. Since we only have 5 minutes between classes, it can be hard sometimes to get to class on time. One of the easiest ways to help is summed up in 5 words: I’ll talk to you later. Of course, most of the time we have friends we only get to see in the hallways, so we want to talk to them. Mr. Hardman provided an easy solution for that. “People come from the 4th floor to the second floor to congregate and have a discussion as a friend group instead of just having conversations kind of as we're moving through and talking.” It improves traffic flow, and will help you get to class quicker, if you walk and talk at the same time instead of just standing in one area and having a conversation.

Side Stairs D (back of the building)

Another way to get to class quicker? Every single person I interviewed, and pretty much every single student I’ve ever talked to about the matter all agree that the biggest way you can move around the building quicker is to take the side stairs. “I always tell the students when they first come here try not to use the main stairway, use the ones that are on the side less traffic,” explained Mrs. Taylor. The side stairs are a huge asset to students, so make good use of them! I can get from the fourth to the first floor in about a minute by taking the side stairs, whereas it takes almost twice as long taking the main stairs.

One of the busiest times is 4th hour, because of the lunches. As someone who brings a lunch every day, and has done that for a number of years, going to that many floors can be more than time will allow for, especially if you can’t get out of the cafeteria quickly. The same can be said of the time before first hour, since many go to breakfast. 

So, what can you do to make it to class on time? Allie gave some solid advice based on her personal experience. She explained, “I would say if your teacher lets you, to bring your lunch box into class. Like my freshman year my teacher would let us come in the morning and just put our lunch box in there. Or just talk to your teacher beforehand and say, ‘my locker is all the way over here, I might be late.’”

As we are no longer able to carry around bags, there are alternatives. Similar to what Allie said about lunch boxes, ask your teachers if you can keep some of the things that you only need for that class within the classroom itself. A notebook doesn’t take up much space in a cabinet or drawer, and it’ll free up your hands a little bit more, and most teachers are willing to be accommodating.

The biggest thing that helps is communication between you and your teacher. Jesse backed that up when he said, “If it's a more lenient teacher, you run down, you tell them, ‘I need to go to my locker, I'll be right back,’ you [hurry], grab your stuff, come back down. If it's a teacher that you know will send you straight to lock out, even if you say where you're going, you run up to your locker as fast as you can, I would definitely recommend going up the side stairs, grab your stuff and just [hurry] downstairs.” He then added, “Teachers are always forgiving, you just don't want to test how forgiving.” 

While it may seem embarrassing and like it’ll ruin everything, don’t worry too much about falling down (or up) the stairs. It happens to everyone, not just you. By the time you’re a senior, you and your friends have all tripped so many times you’ve lost count, trust me. Just get up, grab your stuff, and keep walking.

Teachers know how big the school is, and they know that sometimes things will slow you down. As long as you’re trying to get to class on time, and telling your teachers what’s going on, you’ll be fine.

The other big busy time is after school. We get reminded often by the afternoon announcements to hurry and get to your buses, as they have to leave at certain times. But with a building as big as ours, how can you get your things and get out fast enough to catch your buses? Mrs. Taylor put it simply, “I think they need to say, ‘hey,’ if they're talking to their friend, ‘I'm going to have to leave,’ try to hustle up the stairs, use those side stairs, get to their lockers [and go home].” 

Another reminder from Mr. Hardman was, “The side stairs are always going to be one of your best friends. Find the stairs, if you're sitting down by 301 and you walk all the way to the main stairs to try to go upstairs you're wasting time.” There’s four sets of stairs besides the main ones, and they’re almost never clogged. Two of those four are in the front of the building, so if you take those, you can exit directly from there and get to your bus.

Jesse also offered some great advice on what you can do before you hit the halls– “Gather all your things quickly and organized, and have them set up in a way that's easy for you to put them in your bag. Then either when you get to school and you've taken out all your stuff you need for the day, or sometime during a passing period, organize your backpack so you can just essentially just go to your locker, grab it and go.” If you have everything organized and ready to go, you save so much time.

Now, there’s only so much we can do as students. Mr. Hardman agreed with that when he said, “That goes more on us as administration. Most of the kids hear us regularly tell them, ‘go to class,’ ‘move along,’ ‘keep going.’ Trying to disperse them and get them [to class]...It is our job to try to help you guys by dispersing those crowds so that everyone can move easily and not have to worry about being late so they don't go to Gold Room.”

So, what have we learned? Stick to the right side of the hallway, keep moving, and as most of us have heard a million times, use the side stairs.

The Main Stairs pictured after school 12/7/22. Less than a minute after the bell and already they’re starting to get packed with students. Always remember that the side stairs are always quicker!