Next class: 140 feet away. Turn left out of previous classroom, walk approximately 100 feet forward, turn right, walk 40 feet, approach final destination on the left. These directions sound simple, right? Well, when considering all of the hallway foot traffic and pushing and shoving that lay ahead, walking through the school hallways is not quite a breeze.

When classes end, students prepare themselves for the five-minute walk between classes. This five-minute period is like walking through a jungle. Students push one another, stop in the middle of the hallway and often walk on the wrong side. The result: complete chaos.

Breaks between classes should not be this stressful and hectic. Students should be able to use this time to get a nice change in scenery from the usual classroom setting and walk to their next class in a relaxed manner. However, with the disrespectful and inconsiderate actions of other students in the halls, such goals are difficult to meet. After a quick step in the frenzied hallways of school, it is clear that many – if not most – students need a quick lesson in proper hallway etiquette.

Rule 1: Stay to the right
Walking through the hallways is not very different from driving. In America, we drive on the right side of the road. Likewise, we walk on the right side of the hallway. This should be the most basic and straightforward rule in proper hallway demeanor, yet it is becoming more and more common to see students disrupting the flow of traffic by walking toward other students. This places the innocent students who are properly abiding by hallway rules in danger of a full head-on collision. Don’t put other students and yourself at risk by walking on the left side of the hallway; would you want to end up in the emergency room because of a violent crash in the middle of the hallway? Talk about embarrassing.

Rule 2: Keep moving
One of the most irrational things to do in a school hallway is to make a sudden or complete stop in the middle of the hallway. Many people tend to forget that contrary to popular belief, the hallway does not belong to them. Believe it or not, the hallway is shared by everyone and stopping to socialize and giggle with friends affects almost everyone walking behind you. Inconsiderately stopping can force someone who is in a rush to be late to class or cause someone to run into the person that stopped. This inadvertently leads to all those walking behind them to trample over one another and slowly create a domino effect, or even worse, a stampede. Be considerate and leave the conversations for the larger hallways of the school, where there is more room to move to the side and gossip with friends without disrupting traffic.

Rule 3: Don’t push or shove
When students are late for class or when they feel claustrophobic by all of the people around them, pushing and shoving other students to solve such problems is by no means understandable. Besides being extremely impolite and thoughtless to push other students, it is also violent. The hallways should not look like the bizarre animal like setting that occurs in the mall in Mean Girls; there shouldn’t be people attacking each other like wild creatures looking for prey. The majority of students most likely feel the aggravation of the chaotic hallways, especially in the English and Social Studies hallways, but they are not acting violently to solve the problem. So why should any student be an exception?

Rule 4: Stay away from the blind spots
It is crucial to always avoid the blind spots of hallways, where the risk of collision is by far the greatest. When turning into another hallway, do not walk alongside the wall because if there is a person in the other hallway that is about to turn, they most likely will not see you and the intersection of the two hallways will probably lead to disaster. Make sure to always walk closer to the middle of the hallway when turning, especially when in a rush to avoid potential pain or a catastrophe.

Rule 5: Be polite
As unpleasant and exasperating as school may be, it is important to always be respectful to your peers and treat them courteously. School hallways do not need to be a place to express hostility or anger towards one another; it wouldn’t hurt to smile, wave or say hi to familiar faces. There is nothing worse than an awkwardly silent hallway encounter.

If all students place a greater emphasis on their actions in school hallways, the school building will undoubtedly become a much more civilized institution. It’s sad that in this day and age, manners are something that need to be acquired, rather than naturally derived, but nonetheless, students should always remain respectful. Hallways should not be full of madness and disorderly conduct; students should be able to trust that they will come back from a long day of school in one piece.