Staff Editorial: open campus could create chaos

With big changes coming to the high school in the next few years, many people have began talking about whether or not the campus should be open for lunch. If this were to happen, students would be able to come and go as they please during lunch time. This would create havoc in the parking lot and the surrounding areas as well as cause frustration to local businesses.

The bell rings at 2:10 p.m. to signal the end of the school day. Students race out to their cars in hopes of beating the traffic out of the parking lot. If the school opened the campus for lunch, this would also be a problem during the lunch hour. Just under 700 students drive to the high school everyday and if even half of them left for lunch, traffic would be horrific.

Lunch time is one of the main sources of income for the surrounding restaurants and businesses. Kowalski’s, Taco Johns, Steak Escape and Arby’s serve most of their customers between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every day. If the high school were to open the campus for lunch, the number of customers these restaurants would see each day would drastically increase and it could cause them to lose their other customers. The wait times would increase and it would strongly impact their businesses.

Healthy eating is definitely a determining factor as to why the campus is closed. Most school officials will tell you that school lunches are much healthier than students eating out for lunch. Most fast food restaurants do not have very many healthy choices when you get up to the counter to order. School lunches however, are portioned correctly and students are sure to get a healthy meal.

Another concern is that freshman will be at the high school in just a few short years and most of them will not be able to drive right away. If the campus opened for lunch, they would be walking anywhere they went for lunch. The only legal and safe crosswalk is at the main entrance to the high school. If 300 kids were leaving for lunch every day and crossing the busy road, it could cause major traffic problems and bring up safety concerns.

If freshman were walking to local businesses during lunch, the 25 short minutes we have now would have to be extended. It would be close to impossible for students to walk to Arby’s and get their food and walk back in that short amount of time.

Should Stillwater have an open campus during lunch time?

• Yes
• No

View Results

 Loading ...

If 25 percent of students at the high school left for lunch every day, about 500 students would be leaving. That would impact the businesses and traffic around the high school greatly. Lines would be longer at local restaurants and wait times would definitely take a hit.

Another factor the school may consider is if students will actually come back to school after lunch. One thing holding back students from just leaving right now school security. If students were allowed to leave, they might not come back. They might decide that they are already out of the parking lot, so why go back?

The school campus should definitely not be open. It would be a safety concern and it would disrupt local businesses around the school. The campus has been closed since the school was built in 1993 and it seems to be working so far. Don’t try to fix something that already works just fine.