Hot Take Tuesday, Vol 4
Of all the new changes Webb rolled out for the 2025–2026 school year, none has provoked more conversation than the mandatory freshman study hall. From Sunday to Thursday, 7:30 to 9 p.m., ninth graders gather in the dining hall without their phones as part of a program meant to build discipline and focus.
While most freshmen aren’t exactly lining up to praise this academic experiment, Alexander Efuetngu (‘29) has a different take: mandatory study halls should include everyone.
“A lot of freshmen complain about having to go,” Alexander said. “But I think older students actually need it just as much. They procrastinate too.”
He even has a plan.
“Freshmen and sophomores could meet in the dining hall, and juniors and seniors could use the library,” he said. “That way everyone has a space.”
For Alexander, study hall isn’t a punishment but a framework for success. He points out that upperclassmen often stay up until 2 a.m. struggling with unfinished work, proof that good study habits are just as important later in high school.
His solution? Make it universal. If Webb really wants students to succeed, study hall shouldn’t just be for ninth graders—it should be for everybody.
![Many Webb students spend their free time in the library watching a popular TV show like Riverdale and Euphoria. “Based off what I’ve seen, like in Euphoria, because the actors are older, they don't showcase an actual high school life properly,” Sochika Ndibe (‘26) said. “Since [the actors] are older [and] playing a teenager, from a girl’s perspective, it is going to make you think you should look more developed at a young age.” The actor, who plays Veronica Lodge, was 22 years old at the time of filming.](https://webbcanyonchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Antecol-Media-affects-how-society-functions-graphic-1200x900.png)
