New carpets accompany water fountains around BHS

By Ben O’Brien

Editor’s Note: Buzz Staff Reporter Ben O’Brien spoke with the BHS administration on the new water fountain carpets around the school. He also conducted an informal survey among the student body to see if students noticed a change in the school, particularly about the new carpets.

Some new additions to the BHS hallways sprang up around campus not too long ago: colorful carpets under the water-fountains.

For about two and a half weeks now, these carpets have popped up in the hallways around BHS, cleaning spills and preventing hazards. The carpets are about the size of a large desk in length and width. They have the word ‘water’ on them in colorful text and a themed aqua graphic. But what’s the point of these additions?

After talking with administration, they noted they mainly helped with safety, and quality of life for students and faculty members alike.

“[They’re] definitely multi functional [for] both safety and design,” said Joseph Briganti, one of the House Principals, in an interview. “It spruces up the school a little bit.”

While the mats do their part in giving the school a bit of new life, they’re more practical than they are presentable as Briganti explains.

“Above all else, it boils down to safety. People’s safety is very important to us,” he continued. “It also means custodians no longer have to be working constantly to clean up spills [near the fountains].”

To see the impact of the carpets at BHS, I surveyed a total of 15 students to see if they’d noticed a change in the halls, not mentioning the carpets explicitly. It’s interesting to see if students are starting to notice the smaller things now without the distraction of cell phones during school hours.
Here are the results:

– 8 students report noticing a change around BHS, noting the carpets specifically
– 3 students report noticing a change, not mentioning the carpets
– 4 students report noticing no changes

During my survey, I also asked some students a bit more about their thoughts on the carpets: if they like them and if they think they are effective.

“I don’t know, they look kind of cool,” said Silas Comen, a sophomore. “I think they do a good job.”

“I think I like them; I think they’re good I guess,” added Sophomore Sawyer Gaudreau.

All in all, the carpets give a little bit of diversity to students’ school life, while also keeping the halls safe and slip free.

What do you think about the new carpets? Let us know in the comments.

Buzz Chief Reporter Owen Lentner contributed to this story.