Students support off-campus lunch

By Kristina Rice

Opinions Reporter

Certain students support the idea of off-campus lunch for upperclassmen but agree it’s not smart because of potential issues. Without supervision, students may act foolishly when getting their lunch. Crete Monee High School doesn’t allow off-campus lunch, but according to some students, it would give students more freedom to choose what they eat during their lunch.

Students like the idea of being able to leave during their lunch period, a practice that happens at some other high schools. Photo by Genevieve Van Drunen.

Despite concerns about safety and responsibility, students believe allowing off-campus lunch could limit lunch options and freedom overall. Although certain students want this, some students agree with the concerns about student safety, responsibility, and disruptions to the learning environment.

“I think Crete doesn’t allow off-campus lunch because people can easily skip and go wherever they want,” Junior Elijah Clemans said.

However, not everyone shares Clemans opinion on off-campus lunch.

“I feel like they should allow off-campus lunch because some seniors, older kids, are eighteen, and I feel like when you’re eighteen, you’re an adult and can take care of yourself,” sophomore Christina Hicks said.

Some students believe that some older students are mature and responsible and could earn off-campus lunch.

“I think it’s very necessary because not everybody wants to eat school food,” said NyKiah German. “Because what if the people at this school are allergic to the food here.”

Students could be allergic and maybe lack the resources at home to pack a lunch for school. With students with food allergies or limited resources, off-campus lunch could open options for those students. 

“When students don’t return to school on time, you can just call home or mark tardiness when getting their off-campus lunch,” said Clemons.

Certain students say some students will be tardy, so calling home could prevent that from regularly happening. By involving parents, students could understand responsibility and accountability. If Crete allowed off-campus lunch, students could skip classes regularly, disrupt learning for other students, and raise safety concerns when not returning to school grounds.

“When traveling away from the school to get off-campus lunch, students should probably only be ten-twenty minutes away because you’re still in school and lunch is only so long,” Hicks said.

Some students say traveling away from the school for off-campus lunch should only be so far because it’s still school hours, still a student learning environment, and should maintain a balance between freedom and responsibility, ensuring students stay mindful of their educational priorities.