Students at lunch. Photo by Harmony Reilly
Think of your friends. You probably have some in all grade levels, right? And since they’re in different grade levels than you, the only times you can hang out with them is at lunch. Well, that might be changing soon. Apparently, it’s a possibility that there could be a split between the grade levels for lunches: freshman and sophomores in one lunch time, and juniors and seniors in another.
Mr. Jason Knowles, a social science teacher on campus, was the person who originally suggested the idea of having two lunches.
“I think it would be good in two ways. Number one, because of where we have all the students crowded in — they can’t go past the two red lines — I think it’d release the crowding a little bit by having a freshman and sophomore lunch, and then a junior and senior lunch,” Knowles said.
However, some students are much more skeptical to the concept of their lunch time being switched around.
“I don’t think having two lunches would really solve anything. Although splitting up the classes and making them go to separate lunches would cut lines and crowds down a lot, it would still make students really unhappy because they wouldn’t be able to see their friends anymore,” Nikki Beaudry said.
Adding something on to the school day, like another lunch time, would mean something else about the current schedule would need to be changed.
“I understand there are some scheduling issues; it would require us to change quite a bit of our scheduling, but I still think it can be done. I took an informal poll in my classes, which are all juniors and seniors, and they said they’d be for it, simply because most of their friends are in their grade,” Knowles said.
Changing the school day around would undoubtedly have an effect on students, especially another option that suggests upperclassmen be given the option to leave and return for last block during a first lunch.
“I think an off campus lunch is a great idea. It all just comes down to if you have enough money to pay for food and enough money to pay for gas to get you to that restaurant. The only downside would be parents getting angry about their kids spending extra money on food,” Katie Gruessing said.
Though some are all for the idea of leaving campus to get lunch, some are still not convinced it’s the best idea.
“I think that having an off-campus lunch would be more work than it’s worth. I’m sure juniors would like it, but just going out to lunch is not that exciting. You’d either have to go to Lincoln or drive all the way to somewhere in Rocklin. Our school is way too far away from places to have an off-campus lunch,” Hayley Silva said.
Although some would agree that two lunches would solve overcrowding problems, and some think that an off-campus lunch would be less than helpful, Sierra Stewart doesn’t believe lunch needs to be messed with at all.
“I don’t really think anything needs to be changed. Lunch isn’t too crowded right now; if you find an area that’s not too crowded, and you sit with your friends, that’s fine. But if you choose to sit somewhere that’s obviously crowded, that’s your own fault,” Stewart said.
If the lunches were switched around, and another lunch period were added, something would need to be changed.
“Obviously the intervention period would have to be altered. Either everybody does it at a specific time before lunch, or it’s something we do at the end of the day, because that would have to be changed in order to accommodate a double lunch. Other schools do it, it’s certainly doable, it’s just a matter of sitting down and working out the logistics of it,” Knowles said.
Don’t go running to your upper class friends just yet, because nothing has been confirmed, and as for now, it’s just gossip.
by HARMONY REILLY
