Upon their return to school, students were eager to find out how the new one-way hallways would affect their typical routes to classrooms. The Centers for Disease Control set social distancing guidelines for in-school learning, and Utica Community Schools implemented the new traffic style to cut down on large groups in the hallways.

“I like the arrows in the hallways,” junior Jorge Garcia said, “because it tells people where they can and cannot go. People move in one direction, instead of running into each other during the passing times, and it eliminates big groups of students in the hallways.”

Some student found it easy to figure the arrows in the hallways.

“I don’t mind the arrows in the hallways because they are easy to figure out,” junior John Buffa said. “The arrows in the hallways don’t really have an affect on getting to my classes.”

Some students had a harder time adjusting to the arrows.

“I didn’t like the arrows the first day,” junior Alyssa Pulizzi said. “It was very hard to figure out a way to get to each class, but by the second day I figured out my way around the hallways with the arrows.”

There are also were some students that found the one-way halls less convenient for getting to their classes.

“I don’t like the arrows in the hallways,” junior Michael Dahdah said. “I feel like the arrows in the hallways aren’t worth it, because students still walk close to each other and it takes much longer to walk to your next class.”

Although the one-way traffic was meant to cut down on crowds, some students think the halls are just as crowded as they were last year.

“I think the arrows don’t help minimize the crowd’s in hallways,” junior Jaxson Drew said. “It’s just as crowded as it was last year, and some students don’t even follow the arrows, anyway.”

While the arrows don’t seem to be a problem for many, others disagree.

“I heavily dislike the arrows in the hallways,” junior Antonio Capelj said. “It wastes time in between class periods, and I don’t understand why they are not two-way, like selected hallways. Most of the hallways are the same width, anyway; it’s just infuriating.”