Audrey Navasca

The F hall floods with students as the bell rings. Students surround one another from every direction, but students with the F-U walk have to pick up the pace in order to make it to their next class on time.

Sweat, stress, and speed walking.

About a quarter-mile long trek, every year, students get assigned the infamous F-U walk from F hall to U hall or vice versa.

Some teachers have realized that the walk is no easy feat to complete in seven minutes, and they have become more lenient in allowing students to arrive after the bell. Other teachers believe that it is up to the students to get to class on time, and the walk is doable as long as students are responsible.

Teachers such as the Visual Arts department chair, Julia Schulman, have even set up a policy in her class for students with the F-U walk.

“I think that the policy is helpful so that you don’t have to rush to your next class, but I also think that most teachers understand if you are a couple of minutes late,” said sophomore and Studio Art student Kaia Baker-Malone.

According to a study done in 2019, the average time it takes to walk a mile is 15 to 22 minutes. Taking seven minutes to walk a quarter-mile may seem reasonable as the average speed is 5 minutes per quarter mile, however, this doesn’t account for busy hallways or teachers going past the bell. 

“It would be great if we could leave on time, maybe a minute early to pack up, but at least my fifth-period teacher is understanding,” said sophomore Noelle Pecavar in the Carlmont Jazz Band.

Another student in the Carlmont Symphonic Band, sophomore Tristan Lim, has similar feelings. He wishes teachers were more understanding of how long it takes to get to their next class.

Lim timed himself speed walking to class when let out on time, meaning before the bell he had enough time to put away his clarinet. Getting to his next class took five minutes and 30 seconds, on a quiet day. On days that class ends exactly at the bell, students are forced to use two minutes to pack up, increasing their chances of being tardy.

The F-U walk is a common problem for many students at Carlmont, and for now, no changes are being made to the bell schedule, according to Principal Gay Buckland-Murray.

Each year before school starts, a council of teachers meets to discuss the bell schedule while looking at the calendar for the year. Each teacher has taken the F-U walk, timed themselves, and concluded that seven minutes is a decent amount of time for a passing period. But more recently, Buckland-Murray has realized that walking on an empty campus doesn’t compare to the same walk students are taking.

She stated that she’s had to intervene when some teachers keep students after the bell and cause them to be late to another class.

According to Buckland-Murray, it’s more about understanding everyone’s time. Since the seven-minute passing period is currently set in stone, it’s up to students to ask for understanding and teachers to accommodate.

“I wish the teachers would let us out a little earlier, especially because they often forget about the bell and even hold us in,” said sophomore Arthur Li.