The typical mess of SLOHS students wait in an unreasonably long line to leave campus, taking away from students lunch time. Photo courtesy of junior Beau Crew.
San Luis Obispo High School students should be given a longer lunch period. With a longer lunch period students would be able to socialize more, helping them return back to class happy and refreshed. 35 minutes feels rushed and doesn’t give students enough time to relax, eat, and recharge. Lunch is one of two short breaks students have between classes, and extending it would improve students’ focus and school experience.
It’s time SLOHS gives students the longer lunch they deserve.
“I think if we just had five more minutes the variety of places we could go would expand and we wouldn’t have to speed back,” said junior Makaylin Molinar.
With 35 minutes to walk to your car, drive to a restaurant, order food and drive back there is barely any time to eat your lunch, resorting to many students speeding back to school.
Some may say we just got a brand new cafeteria and the food is free. Why not just get lunch on campus?
“I have strict dietary restrictions when it comes to dairy and soy, and the school lunch doesn’t offer good options for me to eat so I have to go off for lunch,” said junior Carson Reynolds.
For students with food restrictions it becomes more difficult to eat at the school cafeteria because of the less variety of options it has for some students.
Other high schools have tried other options such as Seattle high schools having two lunch periods separated by grade levels.
Two different lunches make it much easier for every student to be served, seated, and have time to eat. In addition, two lunches reduce long lines and make it easier for the cafeteria staff who need time to prepare fresh food.
Even if two different lunch periods are too difficult, more students chipped in their ideas.
“If we took one minute off each class and each passing period we could add an extra ten minutes to our lunch, making it 45 minutes all together, and comparing that to the amount of time we sit in class which is seventy minutes makes 45 minute lunch sound like good sense,” said junior Kai Howard.
Yes we would have less time in class, but students would be more focused in their classes with the longer break.
Ultimately, extending lunch isn’t just about giving students more time, it’s about improving their overall school experience. A longer lunch would reduce stress, allow students to eat properly, and give them time to recharge before returning to class. No matter what the change is to make lunches longer, if the school wants what’s best for their students they need to make the lunches longer!
Source: seattleschools.org
