Yesterday I was eating at the chicken sandwich place and I saw 2 people who I think were reporters for a school media source. (?) They were looking for people to talk to and answer some questions. I don't know what the questions were, I didn't really want to talk to them. In the back of my mind I was thinking they should have gone somewhere else, where people were not busy eating. But then I thought... where exactly should they go?

Where can you go if you want to meet people who are not too busy to have an unplanned conversation? The typical response will probably include things like student organizations, and other social gatherings. These may work but I wonder if it would be possible or helpful to develop a space more conducive to meeting new people inside the school environment itself.

I think the problem is that typically it can be hard to tell if someone would be bothered if you tried to start a conversation with them.

Would it be possible/helpful to have a designated study area where it can be safely assumed that anyone hanging out there would be open to having a conversation? I know there are places we can go and talk to people as part of a program like a math lab. But I think it would be nice to be able to talk with other students outside of a structured, organized format.

There are many forms a space like this could take (if there were a space in the first place). It could be something simple, like the normal desks, chairs and computers of a typical study area. People could hang out and study there and interact when they want to take a break. You could have a card near you with some topics you like to discuss, or classes you are taking, or subjects you like and/or could help with written on it.

Does this make sense at all? Is it even possible?

YMMV
-Jonathan