A fence was built in the spring of last year between Mariano’s grocery store and SC along the northern part of the campus. The addition of the fence impacts students and athletes primarily when getting food after school.

“It’s not our fence, it’s [Garden Market’s] fence,” Associate Principal Greg Gardner said. “They put the fence up with little to no consultation with us. We shared our thoughts on the initial idea, telling them we did not think it was a good idea. They decided to put the fence up anyway.” 

The fence is permanent as of now, Gardner said. The fence was put up to control traffic and limit access everywhere, but the fence may be opened for football games or special events. There also are a lot of issues with holes in the fence. Students are trying to get through by making holes in the fence and taking off boards, forcing workers to frequently fix the fence. 

Additionally, the fence is inconvenient for many student athletes after school, tennis player Ellie Stroka ‘28 said. Many athletes like to get food at Mariano’s before practice, however, students get out of school at 3:05 p.m. and have to change and eat, leaving them little time to get food before practice starts at 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. The fence makes it harder to manage timing after school.

“I am more stressed about being on time and my coach yelling at me,” Stroka said. “One necessity for an athlete is nutrients and the proper diet. The fence takes more time out of the limited time one has after practice, [leaving] many students not wanting to go, and [they] end up not eating anything. It just gives me more unnecessary stress when I need to take a break after the long school day.”