During lunch, students have several food options to choose from like sandwiches, pizza, fruit, and the occasional breakfast burrito or teriyaki chicken dish. Although diverse, these menu items can become dull and boring after a long period of time. West High offers upperclassman the ability to go off-campus during lunch and obtain food from other places. Underclassman students are denied this privilege. Many younger students complain about their unsatisfying lunches, but no changes have been made to this rule. Are underclassmen being unreasonably restrained from going off-campus? I asked two upperclassmen and two underclassmen about their opinions on this issue.
Senior Tien Ngo goes off-campus once or twice a week. As a junior, he went off-campus nearly every day. When asked if underclassmen should be allowed to leave school during lunch, Tien said, “I think that underclassmen going off-campus shouldn’t be allowed because they might not be licensed yet, and it could be a potential issue if something bad happens to them and they have guests in the car.” Tien’s concerns stem from fear of car accidents and major injuries. He believes that allowing unlicensed students to leave campus during lunch is too risky.
Junior Vy Nguyen shares the same opinion about this topic. Like Tien, she believes that underclassmen are too unpredictable to be allowed to go off campus. She said, “I think that they shouldn’t go off campus because they’re not allowed to for a reason, and they’re probably not responsible enough to do so.” Vy believes that underclassmen are more likely to cause injury to themselves and others when they are off campus.
Although an underclassman herself, freshman Valentina Villagomez believes that younger students should not be allowed to go off campus unless supervised by someone older. Valentina said, “I think they should be allowed if they have an older sibling or something, but like by themselves, no.” When asked why she would want to go off campus, she responded, “I would want to go off campus for the food.”
The consensus among most students is that underclassmen should not leave campus during lunch because they might get hurt or cause trouble. Personally, I think that students should only be allowed to go off campus if they have a license or have supervision by someone older.
Underclassmen without licenses would not have any mode of transportation to travel to food places, which makes leaving campus even more risky. If you are a freshman or sophomore, you will have to tolerate school lunch a little longer.
