School hallways are often a struggle at Mount Vernon. They can be busy, completely quiet or extremely confusing. Nevertheless, they can also be large, comfortable and even artistic. It all depends on what students are willing to see. Each hallway is its own situation, with advantages and disadvantages.
The science hallway upstairs is definitely one of the best hallways. It is usually not very crowded, and it often has an empty and working bathroom. The only major downside is that it has a lot of lockers, which means it can fill it up with students at times. With all of this in mind, I would give it a rating of 9 out of 10.
The math and language hallway is also a nice place. It is often decorated for different seasons throughout the year, which makes it more interesting to look at. One of the more recent examples is the hanging cutouts for Spanish Heritage Month. However, people tend to walk on the wrong side of the hallway, which can be irritating. Considering all of this, I would give it an 8.5 out of 10.
The gym hallways are also decent overall. They are large, have access to bathrooms and have windows to see the outside world. Because of this, I would rate them as 8 out of 10.
The tech hallway by the auditorium is nice. The only bad aspect is how it is sometimes filled with extra pieces for the set. However, it is rarely used. That gives it a better evaluation than some of the other hallways at a 7.5.
The main hallway itself is pretty similar to the math and language hallway. It can be well decorated and beautiful. One of my personal favorite decorations I have seen there are for the Chinese New Year. A downside is the length. If a student needs to get from the language hallway to choir, it can take two or more minutes, a third of the passing period. Keeping this in mind, it is probably a 7 out of 10.
The upstairs short science hallway with the stairwell is pretty average. Other than becoming busy because of lockers, there are not many downsides. It makes this hallway slightly above average with a rating around 6.5.
The choir and band hallways can understandably be like a foreign world to students not in choir or band. As a student not in either of these extracurriculars, I cannot give an in-depth analysis of these hallways. However, they seem fairly easy to get around. Because I cannot fairly rate this hallway, I will refrain from doing so.
The aviation hallway is fairly unique. There are not many classrooms in the area, which can make it confusing. It does have bathrooms that are usually empty and clear. In the end, it is definitely one of the better hallways which would give it a rating of six point 5 out of 10.
The engineering hallways are interesting. One has a twist halfway through, which makes it very confusing. Furthermore, when it connects to the gym, the boys bathroom adjacent to it looks a lot like a hallway. This can become very uncomfortable and awkward very fast. Nevertheless, it is still a fairly decent hallway, which results in a score of 6 out of 10.
The transition hallway between the FACS classes and technologies areas is a decent hallway. It is usually uncrowded and not very uncomfortable. However, because it connects a huge number of other hallways, it can be confusing. Due to these facts, a 6 out of 10 is a reasonable ranking.
The hallway down to the buses and car rider line is another long hallway. Overall, it is decent, but it usually is not very useful. It can also be extremely busy and crowded at the beginnings and ends of the day. It can feel like a death trap because it is long and does not have any windows, but it also has a larger bathroom. It also has one of the best vending machines in the school. It is passable. I would personally give it a 5.5 out of 10.
The agriculture hallway is similar. It is not used very often, so it can be extremely confusing. Still, it is a nice hallway. It is extremely uncrowded and has an open exit. Once again, because I do not often use this hallway and have bias from getting lost there, I will refrain from rating this area.
The math and business hallway is one of the quietest hallways in the school. Because it is mostly filled with lockers instead of classes, it is very rarely frequented by students. This makes it completely silent most of the time and very uncomfortable. Even so, it would probably get around 5 out of 10.
The math and world history hallway is also decent, but it has a couple of downsides. One downside is that it is almost always full of people. One example of this could be the bathroom, which regularly has lines out into the hall. Along with being a road block, this is very inconvenient. With this in mind, it would also get a score of 4.5 out of 10.
The art and business hallway is usually extremely busy. It has access to lockers and the main stairwells, which keeps it packed. However, it also has murals. Nevertheless, people running around the halls and general chaos detracts from its atmosphere. A 3.5 is a relatively fair score for this hallway, all things considered.
The upstairs English hallway is extremely busy. It is connected to three of the stairwells, which makes it very busy. Because it is attached to the central, major stairwell, it can get extremely chaotic. Furthermore, its stairs also happen to be extremely easy to trip down. Its bathroom is also often overused and has long lines. Nevertheless, it still gets a score of 1.5.
Overall, all the school hallways have pros and cons that mostly depend on how often they are used and a student’s personal experiences. While there is little that can be done to improve many aspects of a hallway, art, seasonal decorations, and even landmarks can all make hallways easier to get through and more beautiful all around. Yet in the end, the culture is the most prevalent factor to the hallway being better or worse. The students and teachers at Mount Vernon make the hallways’ situation themselves.