The Grand Junction High School Commons are consistently full of students, using chairs and booths or standing in line.

The new $144.5 million school has about 1,780 attending students, many of which occupy the cafeteria and commons during lunchtime. This is in part because GJHS doesn’t let freshmen off-campus. 

“We want to put the freshmen in a good direction. We think that they will develop ditching habits early if they go off-campus. We want to build good habits instead,” GJHS principal Jory Sorensen said. 

This has led to a large crowd of students in the cafeteria and commons. Despite the fact that many students are leaving campus during lunch, they are still very crowded places even after the month of August. 

“Little chaotic there. Initially in the beginning, though, where everybody rushes out and nobody really leaves. Very chaotic,” GJHS junior Eli Deering said.

The issue may persist throughout the school year as well, since the cafeteria and commons have not cleared up.

“Honestly, there’s gonna be way too many people. It will be too hard to even move,” GJHS junior Henry Hatch said.

However, according to Sorensen, the school is trying to find ways for the cafeteria to be more cleared up during lunch time. The staff is encouraged to direct students to nearby empty areas.