Wilson’s Tiger Cafe is being replaced by a brand new work facility for seniors. It will be located in the room right next to the College and Career Center. Twelfth grade Assistant Principal Gregory Bargeman confirmed that the new resource will be called the printing and writing center.

The Tiger Cafe was built as a place where seniors could go during their free periods, but now, Bargeman encourages seniors to go off campus. “When they don’t have classes, they can leave and go home,” Bargeman said. “A lot of the seniors… were skipping class by going in there so we… change[d] the furniture into a space that had four walls so there could be some monitoring going on.” 

Another issue was with non-seniors using the cafe. “We [also] had a lot of underclassmen that were inside of the space,” Bargeman added. Not only did they take away the privilege of being a senior, but they were also skipping class when only seniors are allowed free periods.

The new area will also have its own chaperone. Administrative assistant Diana Morataya will ensure that students who use the new space are not actively skipping class. There will be a check-in list that students will be expected to sign into every time they use the center.

Bargeman plans to add printers and other useful technology to the room in the near future. “Seniors can [still] go in there to do college application writing and stuff like that,” Bargeman said. With a schoolwide paper shortage forcing many teachers to buy some of their own supplies, it may take a while for the printing and writing center to be fully decked out.

Whereas the Tiger Cafe was a hang-out spot for seniors, the newly refurbished area will have stricter regulations. “We’re not going to have any eating in that space and you have to keep your voices to a whisper.”

For seniors that don’t choose to go home during their free periods, the printing and writing center could become a productive workplace, akin to the library. Bargeman still believes the library can be a valuable resource for students. “Seniors have the option of whether to go [to the printing and writing center, or] go to the library,” Bargeman said.