As Westridge’s newly acquired property on Arlington Drive is soon to be developed, I urge the construction council to consider the following requests. Though I’ll probably be 45 by the time the new location opens, as someone who has suffered through classrooms that sometimes stink, leak, or can’t fit enough students, I think my say is important. After hearing talks about new STEAMWork-like spaces meant to empower the “girls in STEM” that we are, I want to put my foot down and tell you what our institution actually needs.

1. Everything-in-One Pods

No more pesky lower schoolers ruining your Project Olas meeting by screaming “Skibidi Toilet” as they construct forts under Ms. Tsia’s desk. These pods can be noise-canceling havens equipped with an array of chargers and pillows—a perfect place to catch up on your viewing of Macbeth (because no Westridge student would ever use their bandwidth to watch Netflix) or just cry yourself to sleep after looking at your Canvas calendar.

2. Another Ice Machine

Even with the tough competition from fries, newly-added Arnold Palmers, and the iconic breakfast burritos, the Commons’ most valuable offering is the ice machine. The rigid circles of frozen H2O are consistently crunchy, yet only available when the cafeteria is open. To avoid deadly dehydration (because, quite frankly, I will not drink water without ice), it is imperative that Westridge install at least two more ice machines on the new part of campus.

3. A Spyglass Newsroom

If Yearbook has Karsh, Thursday Detention has the toilets, and Speech and Debate has the dungeon, Spyglass must also have a space. In my four years in Upper School Spyglass, our publication has had four different homes—two of which did not have enough chairs for our entire staff. I’m sick of being a nomad! As Stallstreet’s publishing continues to be consistently inconsistent and Yearbook still only publishes once a year, why would Westridge’s most prolific, serious, and sometimes humorous publication not have a room all to themselves? It’s not like we ever critique anything Westridge-related.

4. More Purgalatories (or just spaces to cry)

If you’ve walked past the Purgalatory enough times, you’ve probably seen a student or two crying. Maybe you’ve even seen me crying (or opening a college decision). As the pressures of high school continue to weigh on the shoulders of Westridge’s ambitious students, places to let loose in front of advisors, parents, or teachers should be a common occurrence. Westridge should embrace tears in public (even in front of potential Westridge applicants on tours).

5. A Printer That Works

Speaking of tears, I think at least seven of my classmates have cried about not being able to print a five-page English leading class handout for their 17 classmates, seven minutes before class. Walking into the classroom empty-handed, it is side-eyes galore from your classmate and an impending lecture on “preparedness” from your teacher.
There really is no mercy for not preparing ahead of time. At this point, planning for the printer to print is planning to fail.