Starting after spring break, La Salle will be offering five opportunities for seniors to enjoy lunch off campus. If they choose to participate, seniors will be allowed to leave campus on April 2, April 17, April 24, May 8, and May 22 for approximately 90 minutes during one lunch and Flex Time, returning before the start of their sixth period class.

Dean of Students Ms. Kenzie D’Ambrosio sees this as a way to help prepare seniors for life after high school by presenting a chance for them to practice responsibility and autonomy.

“This is just one thing that they can do that gives them some sense of independence and a little bit of freedom, and I think there’s a lot of power in that,” she said. “We’re a college prep school, and that’s what we do.”

However, there are still some requirements to be eligible for this, which include meeting certain grade and attendance standards. Still, the standards are “pretty generous,” Ms. D’Ambrosio said.

According to Ms. D’Ambrosio, while the idea had remained abstract for several years — originally being discussed by her and Vice Principal of Academics Ms. Kathleen Coughran — it started to solidify in the past four or five months before being announced on Friday, March 6.

Ms. D’Ambrosio has fond memories of off-campus lunches from her days in high school, and she hopes that the seniors will be able to have a similar experience.

She sees these lunches as a treat for seniors, especially as their limited time in high school is coming to an end, and believes they still deserve to enjoy it.

“I think the end of senior year should be fun, and it should be one of those times of life [when] you make a lot of memories,” she said. “It really should be filled with a lot of time together with your friends and all of the other things that make high school high school.”

Senior Sawyer Kerrigan echoed this.

“It’s a cool end-of-the-year thing because it’s the end of our high school career, and it’s like one little last thing we get,” he said.

Kerrigan said that this is something that he and other seniors have wanted to have for a long time. 

Spanish teacher Ms. Lisa Moran mentioned how several of the teachers have proposed the idea over the years. 

“I’m excited for them,” she said. “I think it’s a well-deserved opportunity.” 

Ms. Moran also feels that with the new one-lunch schedule, this is an especially good time to allow off-campus lunches.

With the time that they are given, Ms. D’Ambrosio believes that students will have enough time to come back to campus and that they will be responsible enough for this opportunity.

“I choose to trust our students, and I choose to trust our seniors and trust that they’re going to look at this as something that they’re going to do a great job with and understand that it’s a privilege and that they’re going to take great care with it,” she said.

Kerrigan also feels that the seniors will live up to the responsibility. “That’s a big deal,” he said. “I think it’s definitely a privilege, so I think we’ll recognize that.”

On the other hand, senior Zach El Youssef mentioned that he is concerned about attendance after the lunches, and he hopes people are able to manage their time well so that the program can stay around.

“I’m definitely worried about people just skipping after that or coming back late intentionally,” he said. “I don’t want to lose that privilege.”

Another concern shared by both seniors and Ms. Moran is parking. Currently, students are not assigned parking spots, sparking worry about making sure they have a place to park after returning.

Kerrigan and El Youssef believe that this will incentivize better time management from seniors, with El Youssef stating, “I think that’ll definitely encourage people to come back a little bit sooner rather than rush themselves and come back.” 

Ms. Moran added she was worried about students in the Lasallian Ministry class, who drive to Lot Whitcomb Elementary School and might have to compete to get a spot. She hopes that, should this program continue, they would have designated parking spaces.

Additionally, she wonders about the accessibility of this program to students who might not be able to afford to buy lunches, and she hopes other students will be accommodating of this.

“Hopefully it’s not going to leave anybody out who can’t take advantage of going somewhere for lunch if they want to,” she said.

Junior Lucy Schuster believes that this program should remain for seniors only.

“I feel like seniors have certain privileges, and so once you’re a senior, you should just get those certain privileges,” she said. “And I think it’s also something to just look forward to for senior year.” 

Kerrigan, however, personally believes that juniors should be given the same privileges as they are both upperclassmen.

El Youssef and Kerrigan both mentioned that they realize and understand that the way that their class handles this now may have an effect on both the current and future classes.

“As quickly as we gave it to them, we can take it away, and I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Ms. D’Ambrosio said. “They understand that that of course is a possibility, but I think they’re gonna do a great job of this.” 

Seniors say, however, that it is more than just the ability to leave school grounds — it is a freedom, a privilege, and something that they need to be responsible for. 

El Youssef said that after four years, the ability to do this feels “like a gift.” 

Kerrigan added that it is a big step in terms of the freedoms that they get as senior students, saying that it “releases us a little bit and gives us more options.”

Although there are only five dates as of now, Schuster, Kerrigan, and El Youssef hope for it to expand.

Even so, Ms. Moran believes that the lunches should start only after spring break as a way to keep students motivated through the end of their senior year, something Ms. D’Ambrosio recognizes as another benefit.

“There’s some motivation hopefully too, which I think sometimes second-semester seniors need around being to school on time and keeping grades up,” Ms. D’Ambrosio said. “I think there’s some perks in that as well, and having something to continue to work for is, I think, a good thing.”

Both she and Ms. Moran expressed confidence in the seniors’ ability to take this on and be successful with it, choosing to trust them.

“I really think that the seniors are responsible enough, and … they’re not going to abuse it; they’re going to honor it,” Ms. Moran said. “I think we have a really great group of seniors, and I think they’re ready for it.”