Last Thursday, the graduating class of seniors gathered on the Quad for a class photo. In the soft spring winds, petals fell from the canopies around them and the buildings stood on the edges of the photo quietly watching. 

Now, with the new school building working through the plan phases, we are at risk of losing the Quad. But why should you care?

When Lexington High School was built in 1953, the Quad became the center of the school, with the major buildings surrounding it, and a (wide enough) main hallway facing straight towards the center. The space is sufficiently organized to facilitate traffic around the campus, while the low obstruction allows students to use the whole space. 

A brief survey of nearby educational institutions reveals the uniqueness of the Quad’s design: it mimics the center green of a university campus far more than any high school campus design. With its open campus, LHS graduates are more prepared for a college lifestyle in the future, and I find that the freedom gives students more ownership in daily life. 

Navigating this type of campus involves the student moving through different spaces, and the Quad directly exposes students to the outside, bringing the vibrancy of nature to everyday school life. 

Additionally, the Quad provides an open space (that happens to be the shape of the Golgi Apparatus) within the building complex, letting nature diffuse into our classrooms more freely than a tall single large building would. I would rather look into the trees on the Quad than stare across a tiny “sky garden” into another classroom. 

Furthermore, if you stand at the center of the quad (the spot that echoes), and look down towards Muzzey Street, your eyes would land on the historic depot of the Lexington Historical Society. Even though a new building would still give students access to the town center and library, the sense of town identity that comes with the direct on-axis connection would be lost and an imposing structure would stand between residential homes and paved-over wetlands.

There’s no doubt that we need a new school building, but this doesn’t mean constructing a massive brick of a building. Keeping our Quad and an open campus will let us retain the core identity of LHS.