As the bell rings, students leave class for lunch, arriving at their usual outdoor tables. However, the tables appear soaked and slippery from a downpour of rain. Although Orinda doesn’t receive much rain, students face seating problems whenever water falls from the sky. Freshmen and sophomores luckily have an overhang which covers most of their tables, but juniors and seniors, who both sit in uncovered areas, are given little to no refuge from the rain. Although cars are tempting places to sit in during the rain, they are not an option for students. So where are students supposed to sit during rainy brunches and lunches?

During rainy days, the school opens up the cafeteria for students to sit in and enjoy their lunch. As well as the library, teacher’s classrooms are sometimes open for seating. Despite the additional seats, there is minimal space and many students still don’t have a place to sit. This forces students to stand under the overhangs while eating their lunch, which causes crowding and traffic jams in the hallways. 

Many students hope that the school can provide more sheltered areas at school for students to stay under when it rains. “During lunch and brunch, we all sit on the senior lawn, and there isn’t really much rain protection. It’s really annoying because all of the tables get soaked when it rains and no one likes to sit down. I wish there was a better system for when it rains because I’m sure a lot of other students end up dealing with the same problem,” senior Ellie Belshaw said. 

Many students struggle to enjoy their brunches and lunches when it rains and feel it would be effective to create another secure seating area. For example, the library is an easy and peaceful place for students to take refuge in when it’s raining. Although, when it gets crowded or full of students on a rainy day, it becomes a noisy, less comfortable place for students. 

“It would be helpful to have a better and more accessible indoor seating area during the rain at school,” junior Selma Ahmed said.

Although rainy days are not as common at school, when the small issue of seating does come up, students struggle to find available seating that keeps them dry from the rain.