Juniors homeless after evicted from lunch picnic patch by OA admin

precalculusiwillwin, Staff Writer — April 22, 2025

Dissenters Displaced: Junior Bimothy Be's group have been on the search for alternative lunch seating arrangements after being evicted from their initial picnic patch. (Photo by precalculusiwillwin)

After a harrowing year-long battle with OA admin, junior Bimothy Be and his lunch circle have been evicted from their beloved grass patch, a once-haven from the typical Oxford lunch battlefield.

The group first came across the land in September 2023, directly following Oxford's increase in admissions and subsequent depletion of quad table supply. They settled it, using sturdy, nylon-cushioned camping chairs to transform the barren plot of land into Oxford's most highly coveted picnic spot. To account for the neighboring Locker-Blockers, Hallway Hobos, or shameless seventh graders catching onto their advanced developments, they established an intricate strategy: hiding their camping chairs behind the obscure and mysterious ASB shed for safekeeping, maximizing efficiency by keeping their thrones on hand.

Now, Be stares in longing at the 20 square feet of lush, verdant grass he and his companions once called lunch home. The group was issued an eviction warning by Oxford administration last year, and was officially evicted entering the second semester after neglecting it.

"Call it 'adult supervision'...call it a liability issue...we call it gentrification," Be said. "We built that field, brick by brick. Every gross lunch tray concoction, every pre-exam and post-exam group debrief happened right here."

Administration explained that the group had been evicted to preserve campus hierarchy amongst students and staff.

"It disrupts the whole system," they said. "All Patriots are equal — but some are more equal than others. What clearer boundary could there be between OA's social classes than access to comfortable seating at lunch, or a lack thereof?"

With nowhere else to escape, the group is left with no sanctuary. Seeking temporary shelter, they have set up in the baseball dugout; a little sawdust in their beef-and-broccoli can't end their legacy — their story of resilience amid the ruthless lunchtime battlefield.

The Oxford community was equally dismayed by the eviction; Be and his accomplices had encouraged several other students to bring their own seating arrangements.

"[The group] are revolutionaries," said freshman Tay Blesse. "With Oxford's lack of support for those of us whose friends can't sneak out of Connections to mark our lunchtime territory, they inspired us to take a stand."

Standing in solidarity with the group, hundreds of Oxford students have been rallying by bringing their own lawn chairs. Lawn chairs can be found behind the bicycle rack, hidden between bushes, and stashed away in locker room showers. Some classrooms have even united to replace students' seats with foldable lawn chairs, all decorated with "Four legs (chairs) good, two legs (lunch benches) bad!"

In place of the right to set up lawn chairs, Be's group and the protesting students demand free access to the staff lounge. Their petition has garnered over 900 signatures across campus.

"As long as we can't sit, we won't quit," said Sto Lenseet. "All Patriots are equal, period."