Nia Ford

The new school year has begun and already students have noticed a major change: there are only two lunches! The complaints and questions immediately rolled in. Why two lunches? Wouldn’t this just create even more crowded lunches? What if I’m all alone during lunch this year?

There were good intentions when the idea of two lunches were introduced such as reducing the amount of students who skip and don’t go to their 5th period. This was a huge problem the previous two years. There was an attempt to reduce the amount of people who skip last year by having a 15 minute interval between each lunch but that proved to be faulty because people still managed to somehow skip their class. Teachers and students who had second lunch also complained about the disrupted period with half the class before lunch and half after lunch. Over the summer, administration decided on two lunches with an extension of 15 minutes for each one.

On the bright side, having two lunches increases the chance of you being able to eat with your friends and decreases the chance of you having that awkward and empty second lunch with no one. I, unfortunately, experienced this first hand my freshman year.

However, two lunches just means an even more crowded place. The lines reach all the way to the exit doors and no one is really sure where the lines even begin.

It has also meant a longer day with school ending at 2:45 p.m. instead of 2:40 p.m. It’s just five minutes but in those five minutes, people are ready to leave and take that after school nap they’ve been anticipating.

For me, two lunches haven’t been all that bothersome, but it would be nice to not have to wait an extra five minutes of class to go home.

At the end of the day, no one is going to be satisfied with the decision. There will always be complaints whether it’s from faculty or students themselves. Just be glad you never have to rush anymore to get your food before the bell rings.