Being allowed to go outside the campus for lunch seems like a great idea but there are challenges that will keep it from happening. I often think about how great it would be go off campus for lunch but understand why we can’t.
For starters, a lunch period is only 45 minutes and as is seen everyday, scanning is always hectic in the morning. Tena Kelly, an assistant principal, said that the safety agents would have to be scanning “ 24/7” if students were allowed out. It would cause “too much confusion” and be “very hard to keep track” of the people coming in and out if they are able to go out during lunch.
But I also believe if students were able to go outside the campus for lunch, there would be less labor for the chefs in the kitchen. However Kelly disagrees; she thinks it would actually be “ more complex for the cooks” and “hard to plan” because they wouldn’t know how many students are going outside or staying in.
Another problem is that since different schools within the campus attend lunch at the same time, it could encourage fights, especially since they would be unsupervised.
Another concern is that the an open campus could result in lower attendance. Dominick Pellettieri, a dean who been working for BRHS since 2003, shared his experiences when students were able to go outside for lunch. “No” was given as a response to this idea. In the past, he said, ” Kids would leave and never come back.”
The campus used to have 23 safety agents but only has eight now, which he says would be an issue in trying to manage an open campus. Pellettieri believes “Getting sunshine and vitamin D” is the only pro to this idea. One compromise he would favor is allowing students to use the inner patio during lunch. As for an open campus lunch policy, he says there’s “no chance of it coming back.”
That isn’t to say the idea doesn’t have a few benefits. For example, students would have a variety of different foods to choose from. And the responsibilty could prepare them for life after high school. “Having those privileges makes them independent,” said Joseph Shinn, a dean. “Going to college, they would be ready.”
But even though the idea of an open campus for lunch continues to be tempting, the cons outweigh the benefits.
