Long lunch lines, boring food, expensive prices—what are students getting out of this? Having to wait half of their lunch period to get food? At a college preparatory school, how is this preparing us for life after La Salle?

I feel that La Salle’s current lunch system is not preparing its students for college and life after La Salle. Lunch is the same for me now as it was for me when I was in grade school. Thus, I believe there is an aspect of our lunch program that La Salle is lacking in: off-campus lunch.

This is a big debate among students and administrators about whether this should be permitted or not. Many students want to have the option of off-campus lunch because they want the freedom and responsibility to leave campus to buy lunch. However, there is some concern from administrators and parents that students may not arrive back to school when they are supposed to. Safety is also a concern since the students would be leaving the campus for the duration of lunch.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that this would be a fairly convenient process because Clackamas Town Center, which includes many restaurants, is only a two minute drive away. Students would easily be able to drive to Chipotle, Pieology, Panera, etc. to grab some lunch and drive back to school before the bell rings. Many students want to be given more freedom and responsibility and this could be an easy option to give them that. When we get to college, we are going to have to be responsible for where and when we get our meals every day. I think that off-campus lunch for seniors can help prepare us for that.

I have a proposal for how this process could work. Off-campus lunch would be open to seniors only and every morning, teachers, while they are taking attendance, will ask seniors if they are planning on leaving campus for lunch. This will be to let the front office know which students will be leaving campus. If students decide later on in the day that they want to leave campus, then they will just have to check in with the main office. After students return to school they will go to their next class (where teachers already take attendance at the beginning of class) so the office will know if all students returned.

Regarding the concerns of administrators and parents, I do not believe that the issue of students not returning would be a big issue, especially if there are consequences implemented. Students would need to be aware of these consequences so there would be no excuse if they do not arrive back on time. Consequences may include the privilege of off-campus lunch being taken away for the next day or longer, or detentions may be given depending on the situation.

Additionally, there is a concern of safety during this process since students will be leaving campus, which is a reasonable concern, but the purpose of off-campus lunch is to give seniors more responsibility so that they can be more prepared for life after La Salle. Not to mention, Jesuit, Central Catholic, and St. Mary’s Academy all allow their seniors the option of off-campus lunch, which validates that other college preparatory schools do not encounter many issues with this system.

Overall, this system would be a privilege for seniors and it is something that students can look forward to for their senior year. It will teach students more responsibility, which will be beneficial to them and thus, will make them more prepared for life after they graduate La Salle. 

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What do you think of this idea? Should seniors be allowed to leave campus for lunch? Let us know in the comments below.