By Nela Sedlarova

I am always shifting my body when I sit in class. Some may say it’s from the lack of comfort of the class overall, but I disagree. The chairs that we are given to sit on during our four 90 minute classes are terrible. I end up leaving each class with my back and butt hurting from the rough plastic.

It’s even worse when it’s starting to get warmer outside. I wear shorts and my legs stick to the chair. I think if the school was to get the students new chairs instead of TVs in almost every main hallway, it would be beneficial. Some students feel that the chairs add heat to their pants.

“If I am wearing a certain type of clothing it burns my legs,” said BHS student Kaliya Monroe.

Although I’m sure we can say that them burning is slightly over exaggerated, but the heat some classrooms have added with plastic itchy chairs is not a comfortable feeling. Even adding to that, while students are still being seen wearing long pants. It is a completely different story when it’s a student in shorts. The chairs are not breathable, and make your legs stick to the chair. Some students have to be in shorts as a uniform during the winter which means that the classrooms’ heating is going to be on and hot.

“I’m a cheerleader and when I have to wear my skirt, it’s a real issue because, if a class is humid, my legs will stick to the chair. But also if it’s too cold my legs will get goosebumps from the metal part of the chair,” said BHS student Izzy Jaurez.

Monroe also mentioned how the school should consider having students be sat at a table just meant for one student to sit in, although that can be a bit of a stretch with the spacing of classes. Some students with anxiety tend to freak out knowing they’ll be sitting next to a person they might not feel comfortable being sat by. A lot of high school students deal with anxiety and the chairs do not help with this.

“47% of females and 21% of males reported moderate or severe anxiety symptoms as assessed by the GAD-7,” according to the National Institute of Health’s website. I personally have anxiety and when I have to sit next to a stranger I find me and my chair at the opposite edge of the table pushing away from them. I even find myself sitting in an uncomfortable position just because my anxiety is forcing me to sit that way. That part of anxiety is not talked about much – how the stress of sitting uncomfortably next to a person can be.