Fountain Valley High School\’s new shade structure– without the shade

By Zack Bernardin, Staff writer 

People usually expect to find shade under shade structures. However, a student venturing under FVHS\’ new shade structures during school will find rain or shine—but rarely shade. 

“I think they look out of place and that they don’t provide much shade,” says freshman Shawn Carroll.  

This new structure, unlike the semi-leaky old flat top structure, will not provide any rain protection. “They’re useless and don’t cover anything at all. What’s the point?” asks junior Jazmyn Martin. 

Many FVHS students, especially upperclassmen, have found themselves wishing for the old gas station-like roof shelters. However, the structures were old and threatened student safety. Earthquake and building standards had changed since its faulty 1960s design, and the roof was starting to fall apart.  

“The pre-existing shade structure was at one point roped off because it was so questionable as to its structural integrity,” says FVHS Principal Chris Herzfeld. “You wouldn’t want to be under it during an earthquake.”  

Approval for a more “modern” structure came from someone at the district level, and FVHS was not given a choice. 

“When I was doing early surveying with the construction crew and district members, they told me the shade structures were coming down and described to me what they were going to put in place of them,” says Herzfeld. “I told the district members it wasn\’t sufficient because our students needed something that would protect them from rain and actually provide shade.” 

The original plans actually called for a much smaller structure. It would have been divided into two sections, similar to the previous one with the gap in the middle. Principal Herzfeld decided to it was necessary to have at least a say in the design, but when he realized it would be impossible to change the entire plan because the district had already approved the plans for the airport like shade structure, he lobbied for an elongated one. 

As Mr. Herzfeld puts it, “To un-ring the bell would have been impossible.” 

Not everybody is disappointed, though. 

“They’re blue, which is better than the green ones in Edison,” says junior Matt Nguyen.  

One can see many people sitting under the shade structure during lunch, but because of its design, the limited shade moves throughout the day according to the sun\’s position.  

“It looks like people are enjoying it, but other than that, I don’t see any practical point to it,” says junior Tashina Webster. 

The new shade structure is sufficient now, but it seems that come winter rain, Barons will have to find refuge from the elements somewhere else.