Pascack Valley students are not permitted to eat lunch on the second floor as of Tuesday, Nov. 13. This procedure was sent in an email by PV Principal Mr. Tom DeMaio to remind students that it will be enforced for the rest of the school year.

According to DeMaio, the upstairs was not closed during lunch from the recent anti-Semitic incidents.

Students were originally not allowed to eat upstairs, but after a group of students were approved by DeMaio to eat lunch on the second floor, more students began to eat lunch upstairs and are “making too much noise,” according to DeMaio.

“Now, it’s gotten to a point where it’s not what it [the rule] was supposed to be,” DeMaio said.

Ms. Leah Jerome, who represented the teachers of the history department at a meeting held by the School Safety Team on Monday, Nov. 12, brought this issue up to the committee to be addressed after multiple teachers complained about the noise and the garbage left behind. The meetings are held multiple times throughout the school year in regards to the school climate.

“It’s funny that she [Jerome] brought it up because it was something that was on my agenda to do that kind of got lost,” DeMaio said. “When teachers complain, then I also am like ‘let me follow up and see what’s going on.’ When I went up in the last two weeks, I noticed that there’s a lot more kids up there, and then I started seeing some trash being left and I heard some of the language that was going on.”

Jerome believes that this rule will “make sure kids are in comfortable environments” since they would be monitored by teachers on lunch duty.

She also emphasized that with less of an area for students to roam during lunchtime, it is easier for teachers and administrators to patrol and ensure that students are safe at all times.

“There needs to be a bit more monitoring. Not because things like this usually happen, but when people aren’t monitored, they might do something bad,” Jerome said. “There’s not enough adults walking around up here to monitor kids. There shouldn’t be a situation where kids could just sit in the corner, floor, or anywhere, and not have adult supervision.”