La Salle is surrounded by countless popular food chains. Located right next to Clackamas Town Center, our school is in the perfect location when it comes to getting a bite to eat. Panda Express, Chipotle, Panera, Noodles and Co., McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, and many other restaurants are less than 2 minutes away by car. Unfortunately, the only time that La Salle students get to visit them is after school.

One of the most basic freedoms for many public schools is open campus lunch. Most of the time, students are allowed to leave school for 30 or 40 minutes depending on how long their lunch period is. They don’t have to worry about bringing lunch to school or, as seems to be a complaint by many La Salle students, paying for expensive cafeteria food.

“The lunch lines inside of our school are way too long and the food is very overpriced,” remarks sophomore Connor Denning when asked about the situation. “The majority of public schools have this freedom and I believe we should also have the option to choose where we want to eat.”

The benefits of off-campus lunch go beyond just the preferences of students and the price of food. It would also give kids an opportunity to take a break from the regular school day. Fresh air, time with friends, and a good meal would bring students back to school in the afternoon ready to learn.

“Off campus lunch would give me more motivation to go to school,” says sophomore Virginia Jacobs. “It is hard to be at school for seven hours a day so an off-campus break would be really nice.”

Obviously there are some drawbacks to having an open campus. Having students off campus during school hours might tempt them to not come back. Also, there is the obvious concern of car crashes. La Salle wants to take care of its students and this might lead to concerns of someone possibly getting hurt while still technically under the school’s responsibility. Though these are valid concerns, once people enter high school, they need to be ready to make their own decisions and accept the consequences for them. Open campus lunch would teach students responsibility and time management, which are both very applicable life skills.

To make this a reality for La Salle, there would have to be many guidelines surrounding the new opportunity. For example, it may be a good idea to have it only available for upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) because the majority of them can drive and they are more mature. Also, students with below a certain standard GPA should not be able to go off campus. With rules like this in place, off campus lunch wouldn’t be a right but a privilege for deserving students.

With all of the stress, anxiety, and worry that comes with being a high school student, we could use a little incentive to want to work hard. Being able to leave school in order to buy the food that they want to eat would encourage La Salle students to keep going throughout the whole day. The benefits of open campus lunch are limitless. It’s time for La Salle to make this long-awaited change.

Creative Commons photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dccentralkitchen/5665752854