Sophie Halm, Editor-in-Chief
eSomethin staff
Everyday, students all across Ohio trudge their way to lunch where they are forced to eat poor-quality food with too little time. They eat their sandwich, drink their small carton of milk, and talk with the people at their lunch table. Then, they pack up and they’re already onto the next class. A breath of fresh air and choice of food would benefit students and allow them to really take their mind off of school for a break. It would also open up a chance to practice adulting and responsibility before going out into the world after high school. Open-campus lunches should become a privilege so that students receive the breaks they deserve and allow for more choices in their daily lives.
Lunch is the time to refuel the body and give the brain a break from its intense learning labors during the day. However, this supposedly free period is not truly free. Students are rushed to eat the food they might not want to eat, and half of the time they’re spending time catching up on school work rather than relaxing and socializing. This is partially due to the fact that they are not allowed to leave campus for lunch.
At Perrysburg High School, a lunch period lasts 30 minutes, but in reality, it lasts around 25 minutes after walking to the cafeteria from the previous period and buying lunch in the lunch lines. A short 25 minute break is not nearly enough to supplement for the six and a half hours they are in school. According to the CDC, providing more time for lunch allows for more consumption of important nutrients, more consumption of fruits, vegetables, the entree, and milk, and less leftovers. Providing more time would lead to healthier students and less waste to throw out.
Senior Angelie Malik described the inconvenience: “You have to take the time out of the morning to pack a lunch, or if you’re gonna buy a lunch, sometimes they don’t always have a food that everyone wants to eat. I know I personally haven’t bought a lunch from the school since [Hull Prairie Intermediate] because I’m not a fan of the school lunches,” she explained. Some school lunches are unappealing, and packing a nutritional lunch takes time that some students do not have enough of. An open-campus lunch would allow students to pick their meal if eating out, or possibly swing home to make a quality lunch at home.
Open Campus
The majority of high schools in Ohio have closed-campus policies and do not allow their students to leave for lunch. However, Marietta High School in Marietta, Ohio, does provide the opportunity for their upperclassmen to leave campus for lunch. According to the MHS handbook, “Open campus lunch privileges are just that, a privilege, not a right. A student must be in good standing with their behavior and discipline. A student who violates the MHS student code of conduct, violates any of the standards set forth in the MHS student handbook, or is in violation of the school’s good conduct policy will not be allowed open lunch privileges at the discretion of the principal.” Therefore, the students of MHS must earn the privilege, but still have the opportunity to exercise it.
Malik also proposed a similar solution: “I think maybe instead of allowing every student to leave the campus, it could be a reward, sort of. The student earns it if they have a certain GPA and don’t have any office referrals. That could eliminate people who would maybe take advantage of it in the wrong way. If they do leave school and don’t come back, then they would lose the opportunity,” she suggested.
Students in Perrysburg go through four years of high school confined to the cafeteria during lunch. If lucky enough, some seniors might have a double-early release that lets them have some lunchtime freedom. Occasionally, one senior table will be able to sit at a picnic bench outside, but that is one table out of many. The picnic tables outside really do not get much use other than those sporadic opportunities. Other than these exceptions, they are stuck in the dim light of the chilly cafeteria for four straight years. After graduating high school, students will go out into the real world and the freedom of open-campus lunch breaks will be introduced. Since they did not have open-campus lunch in high school, they will have to learn the responsibilities of this liberty. This could range from budgeting lunch money, navigating lunchtime rush hour traffic, or returning on-time. If any of these things go wrong, serious consequences could follow, like being reprimanded or not being financially responsible. It’s better to teach these responsibilities to high school students now so that when they are thrown into the pool of life, they have some experience. A lunch break may seem simple, but the possible repercussions are serious.
Senior Lily Morris said, “[Open-campus lunch] gives students an opportunity to use their break to the fullest and actually get out and feel free from school.” A simple break could be an introduction to a freedom and responsibility that they will use in their futures. Students will learn time management and financial skills through the opportunity of an open-campus lunch.
Understandable Concerns
It is clear that there are risks that come along with this privilege, especially from the school’s perspective. Students could get into car accidents, potentially leaving the school liable, and truancy could become a problem. These risks are understandable as to why a closed-campus lunch is the safest option for school districts. However, there has been word of possibly shortening the passing period in between classes next school year, and this would open more time for lunch. “I don’t know if that’s actually happening, but I would say they could add that time to lunch to give more time for students to take their time when driving, so less accidents, and then take their time…so they won’t be as tardy,” Morris suggested. More time would allow for safer driving and lower accident risk.
In comparison to the majority of Ohio high schools being compliant with closed-campus policies, it is likely that PHS will remain this way. But, changes could be made in order to better the lunchtime experience at PHS. Closed or open-campus, more time would give students a healthier opportunity to process their food and break from learning.
Aside from food, a larger complaint about PHS lunch is the lack of friends. It is beneficial to learn to meet new people and make new friends, however, it can be discouraging when there are absolutely no friends during the lunch period. It sometimes takes a friendly face in order to gain some confidence to make new friends. “I think something that would definitely improve lunches at school and make more people want to stay for them would be if you could select the lunch period you want to have and have a guarantee that you’ll have your friends in your lunch. I know sometimes people get stuck in lunch periods and they literally don’t know anyone, and then it makes it really unenjoyable,” Malik prefaced. Lunch can sometimes be the best period of the day for some students if they are looking forward to spending the time with their friends. But it can easily be quite the opposite if they are feeling utterly lonely. One known friend should be guaranteed lunch periods as an incentive to stick around. This will make double early releases less tempting and the social hour of lunch more appealing.
Students can receive the benefits of an appropriate breaktime and learn some real-world responsibilities by stepping foot off campus for lunch. Something as simple as this freedom can teach students a lot about themselves and keep them in a healthy mental space for learning. If closed-campus lunches are to stick around as predicted, an effort should be made to make them as enjoyable as possible. An adequate lunch break in the day could be the reason why some students would be able to put forth maximum effort into their education and their futures.
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