Between the Learning Commons, cafeteria, and more, the students of Scarsdale High School have numerous options when it comes to choosing where to eat. Interestingly, while most freshmen eat in the commons, other grades tend to eat in the cafeteria.“Both freshmen and sophomores mostly eat in the commons because of its location. There are less stairs to go up and down to get there and many people have class on the second floor,” said Sammy Cascade ‘28. Conversely, upperclassmen prefer to eat in the cafeteria, by the brewster entrance, or outside. But do students eat in different locations because they like the area or because that is where their friends are?

Regardless of where students choose to eat, their main concern is about the quality and optionality of the food. “The Cafeteria is usually the same thing, like, every day…But with the commons, the food tastes better,” Sabrina Anders ‘26, explained. “The commons has a new meal everyday plus they have pizza, sandwich and a salad bar. I believe the Cafeteria has burgers, tater tots and more every day but no daily meal,” Cascade concurred. Students agree that the commons has better food in terms of both quality and quantity.

Additionally, students care about where the seating options available. People feel that the seating in the Learning Commons is better because of the wide range of options including high top chairs, low tables, stair seating, and booths. However, in the cafeteria, “you’re never without a space to sit,” Anders pointed out, explaining that the commons can get crowded. While the maximum capacity of the commons is only 303 people, the cafeteria can hold up to 410 people, because the space is more open. Due to the amount of seating in the cafeteria, larger groups of friends and more grades are able to dine there.

The commons also has other downfalls, such as the often long line to get food. “The commons gets a really long, unruly line because underclassmen don’t know how to make a line, apparently,” Anders jokingly noted. Moreover, “You can get food a lot quicker in the cafeteria since less people go there and it’s not a narrow pass way,” Cascade added. The long line results from the suboptimal location of the hot lunch and salad bar, which are in the front of the food area. This layout leads to a large group of students crowding the entrance where food is served. Because of this some, students sometimes buy food in one area and eat in another to avoid waits.

Finally, the social environment can also impact where students eat lunch.“[My] friends eat in the commons and I want to sit with them,” Ashley Crowley ‘28, shared. Students like to be in the same environment with their friends so they shift toward sitting in the same area as them. “The commons is full of freshmen and underclassmen but the cafeteria has seniors,” Alejandro Sanchez ‘25 remarked, citing that as the reason why he eats in the cafeteria. Having other grade levels and a lot of conversation in a single room can get chaotic and noisy. In an area with too many students, communicating with friends can become difficult, which is a nuisance for students. When the weather is nice, students from all grades will eat outside because of its calmer environment and more room to spread out. For the same reasons, some students prefer to eat near the Brewster entrance. 

First and foremost, students want to eat with their friends. “I think I would rather eat in the cafeteria because the line is shorter, but all my friends and my whole grade eat in the commons,” Isabel Casal ‘28 concluded. While any given location might be perceived as being “better,” if someone’s grade or friend group eats somewhere, they will eat there too. No matter where students choose to eat, however, there are great options throughout the school.