Lunch time chaos is something that students are all too familiar with. Entering the lunch room to a mile-long line is anything but inviting, and the thought of waiting to receive a preselected lunch of someone else’s choosing each day is a nightmare for any victim of public school policies such as this.

  Some schools allow older students to leave campus during their lunch period to get food of their choosing. This option would make students feel as if they have more autonomy and freedom. This would result in a more positive school culture.

  Of course an idea of this sort comes with many pros and cons. This change in protocol would require a set of preconstructed rules and standards to decrease the number of students that would abuse the privilege and use it in a malicious manner. Luckily, the standards can take form in simple solutions to prevent rebellious intent.

  Some of the standards that could be proposed for off-campus lunch may be that a student must be a junior or senior in good academic and discipline standing, must apply for an off-campus lunch pass and must have a parent-signed waiver that would state that the school is not responsible for any injuries that might occur when a student is off campus for lunch.

  Even with these regulations to an off-campus lunch plan, there would be pitfalls to overcome, including our school location. The high school is over a mile away from most food options. This may necessitate longer lunch periods to make it possible. Also, local restaurants would have to be informed so that they could anticipate the additional traffic through their doors.

  Another potential pitfall of this plan might be the financial crunch it could put on student pocketbooks. We have a high percentage of free and reduced lunch eligibility, therefore lunch for all students is free thanks to a government program. Students might be socially pressured to eat off campus because their friends are doing it and put more financial burden on their parents.

 Despite the potential for problems, off-campus lunch is worth consideration in order to encourage a more positive student environment.