Walking through the halls of Jones College Prep, I can hardly recognize any underclassmen. Maybe you could chalk it up to an upper-class men ignoring the freshmen and sophomores, but another likely explanation could be the almost doubling of the Jones student body.

Jones used to be one of the smaller selective enrollment schools, but now that it’s grown so much, both space and student body wise, it feels different. The overcrowded halls, and the unfamiliarity of a new building both contribute to the different feeling of the new Jones.

Old Jones, with its small student size, and small building was a tight knit community, and what drew people to this school. It was different from the giants of the college prep schools, and the difference was what people loved about it. Being forced into the small building of old Jones helped build up the community, and the students were closer as a result.

On any given day you could walk around the old Jones and recognize most the people you came across, from either being acquaintances, or having seeing them in the halls before. Now, because of the increased size of the student body, and the school, there are students I’ve never seen before, and it’s already near the end of the second semester.

Another problem brought on by the increased student body is overcrowding in the hallways. There is almost always a traffic jam between the old and new buildings, and the in the way to get from the old cafeteria to the old building. Even though the area of the old building was smaller, we had a smaller student body, so delays like this were rare. At least once a day when trying to traverse the area between the new and old building I am held up by a mass of students waiting to get through the two doors that are the only way into the old building from the new one.

The increase in students has brought with it a number of problems, but also helps Jones grow as a school. However, with even more students entering the school next year, something needs to be done to reduce the human traffic jam between the two buildings.