By Albert Wu
Opinions Reporter
The half-an-hour lunch period for Newton South students needs to be extended because lunch should be longer than just “lunch”.
The lunch period not only provides a time for eating, but a breathing space for activities within school. While most take this 30 to 35 minute period to socialize, chat and catch-up with friends, many use this time to visit the library, meet with teachers, and review school work.
“I went on a two and half week period where I didn’t go to lunch at all,” junior Nick Tumpowsky complains, “I just used the time to work.”
Students are forced to give up time for eating in order to afford time for school related work. Eating during the day is essential in fueling oneself both physically and mentally. The fact that students have to choose between completing schoolwork and eating is not only ridiculous, but shameful for our progressive and wellness oriented school.
Even those who do decide to eat during lunch face obstacles. Obstacles that turn what should be a time for relaxation into the opposite.
Junior Paul Chan explains the dilemma of a 30 minute lunch.
“With long lines and other such delays [like the walk from and back to class], the ending time looms overhead,” he said. “Lunch becomes more rushed and less relaxing.”
The purpose of lunch is not only for eating, but for taking a moment in the lengthy school day to rest. South is reknown for its academic intensity. During the day, students are consumed by the pressures and struggles of their classes. Students not only need, but deserve to have a longer lunch period. Why is it that a student has to cram their lunches into his or her face as time ticks down, but have an extra 15 minutes of work during a long block?
A rushed lunch – that’s an oxymoron if I’ve heard one.
Furthermore, students who want to get real food off campus face an even larger problem.
Junior George Morgan is one of many South students who experience this issue.
“When people try to go out and get lunch, there isn’t enough time to actually drive there, get the food, and come back. People drive really fast and dangerously.”
It’s apparent that not all high schoolers drive recklessly, but there is reason for concern. When students, who mostly aren’t old enough to legally drive kids, pack their car full of their friends during a 30 minute lunch it should bring up a red flag.
According to the National Teen Driving Statistics, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of deaths among 15-20 year olds.
Accidents are rare, but a longer lunch would ensure safer driving. Newton South needs to recognize that students leaving campus for lunch is a routine and daily occurrence, and that by simply making lunch longer, South would be able to better protect it’s student body.
Students are not the only ones that oppose the brief lunch period. English teacher Joseph Golding agrees with the students who we talked to.
“Teachers also don’t have time for lunch. We can’t take the time to tell students who need help to ‘come see me during lunch’ – that’s what we lose, and that’s crummy,” he said.
Golding, a teacher who gives 40 minutes for lunch, emphasizes a struggle that both students and teachers face on a daily basis.
Students that participate in clubs, sports and activities after school are simply unable to meet and discuss with teachers. On the other side, teachers are unable to connect and communicate with their students, essential to success, as well as eat their own lunch.
And what about our science department? Many science classes starting sophomore year give no real lunch break, but rather a “working lunch,” where students eat in class while the lesson continues. Lab heavy classes sometimes don’t even have time to actually eat, causing students to take lunch to the next class or forego it completely.
Imagine if South had an hour for lunch. Students would be able to work, eat, socialize, conference or simply relax – to do anything they need and want to do. This probably seems too good to be true, but it’s a reality for many schools across the nation.
“Concord Carlisle High School has an entire hour lunch block,” Golding explains. “Students at CC are a lot less tense. Unlike the students at South, CC students leave high school with the mentality of ‘I’m gonna miss this place’ as opposed to ‘Phewph, I got through it.’”
There are many ways this can be done, such as contributing the additional 15 minutes of the long block to lunch or simply giving students an individual lunch block.
This is a change that needs to happen for both current students at South and the thousands of future students who will pass through these halls.
