Each part of Westfield is known for something. Whether it’s in regards to temperature or wifi, each part of the school has its drawbacks and advantages. So what area is best for learning? Do students have a favorite place, or, for that matter, a least favorite? 

     We polled fifty juniors and seniors to better understand the persona each hall has developed since Westfield was built in 2000. Polling categories such as worst wifi, coldest classrooms, best vibes, and more were voted on.

Downstairs Classrooms

     The temperature extremes are actually ridiculous at Westfield, it’s hard to find a classroom that’s always the perfect climate. E hall received the most votes as the coldest part of Westfield (30%) with A receiving a good number as well (18%). The hottest classrooms were voted to be in R hall (36%) and C hall (26%). 

     With E and R halls being so close together it demonstrates how quickly temperatures can change from zone to zone within the school.

     Like temperature, wifi is also unreliant. 42% of the students surveyed agreed that R hall has the best wifi, with 36% selecting C hall as the worst. Even though some areas are better than others, many commented that wifi in general is just trash. Regardless, quality wifi is assuredly not the reason a student would choose to attend Westfield. 

     The secluded A hall won the award for quietest area (60%) with C hall getting elected the loudest by an astounding 94% of votes. This wasn’t exactly unexpected, as C hall is where students often congregate before and in between classes. During school, this area can be loud or quiet depending on whether or not people are using the furniture in the hall.

     While the categories mentioned above have more of an impact on how well students and teachers can fill their niche, there are certainly other aspects Westfield is known for. 

     One of these, of course, is Admin. There have been an increasing number of staff in the hallways, and since C hall is known for fights and large crowds, that is likely why it won 86% of votes as the area with the most admin present. A hall fittingly was voted as the place with the fewest number of admin (42%). Taking this evidence into account, if you’re looking to be a nincompoop it’ll be easier to do so in A hall rather than C. 

     Bathrooms are another aspect of Westfield that receive quite a bit of attention. Which area has the worst? You guessed it, C hall. 70% of voters agreed it has the most appalling restrooms, while 58% voted that A hall has the best.

     The collected data shows that A and C halls are complete opposites, with C clearly being notorious for a variety of reasons. BUT- it’s not all bad. C hall was also voted to have the best vibes (52%). Its furniture and central location along with the murals on the walls just give it a certain energy that students appreciate. After all, it is the place where kids hang out all the time and that wouldn’t be the case if it was all bad.

Upstairs Classrooms

     Upstairs classrooms generally received less definitive votes than downstairs, likely because downstairs generally has more required classes and upstairs has more elective courses that fewer people take. Still, we were able to gather quite a bit of information.

     Like the downstairs classrooms the upstairs Westfield community also suffers from extreme temperature variations. While the coldest area is less agreed upon with C, D, and A halls receiving about 20% of votes each, many students do agree on which area is the warmest; R hall, winning 46% of votes, is clearly just plain hot.

     With both upstairs and downstairs R halls being voted the warmest,  it makes sense that, like its downstairs counterpart, upstairs R would also have the best wifi; it wound in 48% of student votes. Worst wifi was fairly split between two halls: A (24%) and C (26%).

     In regards to noise levels, A hall was once again voted the quietest (58%), and C hall was again chosen as the loudest (40%). Upstairs, however, C hall wasn’t as definitive of a vote as downstairs, and R hall received a solid 26% of votes, too. C hall upstairs doesn’t have the same furniture and open space as downstairs so less people congregate there. R hall is also easier access for people to gather which could be why it’s also pulled in votes as the loudest. 

     Admin is certainly less present upstairs and it showed in the fact that votes were fairly mixed as to where staff are on the lookout for trouble. Both E and C halls received a sufficient amount of votes as having the most Admin, about 30% each, with A and B halls having the least and pulling in a combined total of 50% of votes. The data for this topic is much less absolute than downstairs statistics but still reflects similar trends. 

     Upstairs bathrooms also somewhat mirrored downstairs votes, with A hall being voted as having the best (44%) and C hall once again winning as the worst. However, C only relieved 34% of votes and E hall dragged in 20% of votes. Once again, much less definitive data. 

     Despite upstairs and downstairs seeming to be quite similar, correlation was broken between the two when A hall was voted as having the best vibes (44%). In reality, this makes sense; upstairs A hall is the art department so there’s lots of color, murals, and talent displayed both in and outside classrooms. 

Overall

     The data collected exhibits that not only are different areas of Westfield known for a wide variety of reasons, but that upstairs and downstairs classrooms have similarities. Our statistics also show that quite a few parts of Westfield aren’t known very well. F, G, K, H, and N halls as well as the trailers were all places that occasionally received one or two votes in regards to certain topics but generally went unnoticed; they are halls that don’t have many classrooms and as a result fewer students know about them. 

     Even though not every corner of Westfield was mentioned, our data still paints a fairly well developed picture of our school. A hall, being off to the side, is more secluded and therefore much quieter. C hall, having an attractive side to it, is most definitely not sequestered and is loud. Our survey depicts that those two areas are exact opposites, with other places having similar aspects that are perhaps less extreme. 

     With these ideas in mind, we asked students what they thought the best area for learning/teaching was. Surprisingly, the results were quite mixed. 28% of students selected the R hall area and 28% of students selected the A hall area. E hall downstairs got 12% of votes, and perhaps a bit surprisingly C hall downstairs got (12%). The results do show that A hall and R hall areas (which interestingly enough are on opposite sides of the school) are the best for learning/teaching, but almost all the well known areas received at least a few votes each. 

     These varying results indicate that students prioritize different aspects of classrooms when it comes to their learning. Some people function better when temperatures are cold, others when it’s hot. Some students hate noise, others don’t mind it. Some really hate bland learning spaces while others don’t mind a classroom that has absolutely no personality. The difference in preferences is likely why results were fairly mixed as the graph to the right shows. 

     Although A and R halls may have pulled in quite a few votes as the best parts of Westfield for learning/teaching, we wondered if they were students’ favorite places in general when focus on school work wasn’t a factor. It turns out that 24% of students agree that upstairs A hall is their favorite place, with downstairs A hall receiving absolutely no votes for this category. R hall area received a total of 30% of votes when previously it received a total of 28% of votes for learning/teaching. Fairly similar results with, once again, other notable areas of the school also pulling in a few votes; this includes E hall area (12%) and C hall downstairs (10%). 

     With A and R halls generally being people’s favorites in multiple categories, you may be wondering which is the worst. Welp. It’s C hall. C hall downstairs specifically. In regards to learning/teaching the C hall area was voted as the worst with a total of 66% of votes, with 58% of those being for downstairs. 

     It’s also apparent that students don’t like C hall even when learning isn’t a factor. 48% of students voted it as their least favorite, with 44% of those votes being for downstairs specifically. With the vaping, fighting, and monitoring that occur there this makes sense but at the same time is slightly confusing considering how many people hang out there. However, when surveying students it was clear many of them have a love-hate relationship with C hall so the votes here do have validity.  

     In short, the people of Westfield are quite diverse, but it’s clear that the school itself is as well. The persona each area has developed has been noted by students and truly influences life at school. With the information gathered from experienced Westfield students, we’ve learned a lot and can better understand how each area affects both teachers and students alike.