(COVINGTON, La.) — One will notice when on the campus of St. Paul’s School that each student has a predetermined spot where he eats lunch. Although it may seem irrelevant to some, the forty-five minutes students have for lunch is an important part of each student’s day.

“I’ve eaten here every year,” junior Timothy Levet said, regarding his spot under the Wolf Dome. “This is where my crew sits.”

Although some eating locations may be objectively better than others because of factors like air conditioning or comfortable seating, or spots that provide lots of seating like the cafeteria, many students choose to simply go where their peers go.

“I have a few friends that like to hang out over here,” freshman Johnathan Sheffield said regarding his reason for choosing his spot at the memorial fountain.

For some students, lunch spots change every year, or even more frequently.

“I used to eat, when I was a ninth-grader, at the little stone table around the trees,” sophomore Cole Chitwood said. “Previously I would eat, in eighth grade, at the two little benches over there by the one statue.” He is now very comfortable near the entrance to Benilde Hall.

When asked why he did all of this moving, Chitwood said, “It’s because that’s where my friends eat. I’m a follower, not a leader.”

There are other reasons, however, that students choose specific spots. Junior Landon Ruel likes to sit on a bench under a tree by the main school building because he likes the shade that the tree provides, and he does not like how the tables under the Wolf Dome are always moving.

Visitors can observe that many of the eating spots on campus are grade-specific, or as in the case of the band room, extracurricular-specific. They can also observe that lunch spots are very important to St. Paul’s students.