Lunch lines too long
By Ty'Asia W.
For the past six years--ever since we lost Mr. Coleman as the principal--Airport High School students have little time for lunch everyday. Lunch under Mr. Coleman was the entire school and 45 minutes long, but the principals who came after him created multiple, shorter lunches instead. Due to students having such a short amount of time to be in the actual cafeteria, the lines are too long and students complain about not having enough time to eat or enjoy their free time.
Students have as little as twenty minutes to eat, and for most of that time they have to wait in line for their food. Students have expressed in the past that some other students will skip in front of them, making them wait even longer, losing more time to eat.
As of now we have three lunch lines open but there are two other lines not being used. Speaking to Erin J., a senior at AHS, she says, “I recall my Freshman year that we used to have more than three lines open for students. That made getting lunch a little more [sic] faster and less irritating for us. I wish we could have that again.”
Dominique M., another student at AHS, says, “Lunch is a time where we are supposed to have a break from work and be able to eat but waiting in line takes that time from us.”
Students want the free time to also communicate with their friends and have their own time outside of school work and the stress that it can bring them.
Other nearby schools, like our rival Brookland Cayce High School, have an hour for their lunch, and students can leave campus to get their own choice of food outside of school if they want too. AHS students believe they should have some type of say in if they can have a longer lunch time like BC high school and that it's not fair for them. Some argue that there should be a district policy so that students at both schools are treated the same.
Speaking with the AHS principal about this matter he said “ from my understanding the 25 minute lunches work for the school I've never had a student come to me about not having enough time to eat.”
The majority of students also believe that if they can't have a longer lunch they should at least have another line open up to shorten the three lines open so they can have more time to eat. When asked about the number of lunch lines being open the principle says “The company we work with (for lunches) depends on how many staff members that day are there so if some days there are more lines then other days it's because of the number of staff and students.”
Other people believe that if students were to have a longer lunch that it would be unnecessary and the wait time would mess up their schedules throughout the day.
Research from the CDC shows that students should have 20 minutes of actual sitting down and eating. Well, AHS lunch is 20 minutes long and waiting in line reduces the time they have to actually eat causing students to not have time to finish their food and get proper nutrition.
According to another article from EdSource, students can academically improve and focus on school work better if they have more time for lunch, they can also improve on their eating habits which can help later in life.
South Carolina is aware that longer lunch time benefits students. In fact, our legislators have made some moves to mandate a minimum time for lunch. According to a legislative document found online, “Bill 148 of the 2023-2024 legislative session in South Carolina requires schools to provide a minimum of 30-minute lunch periods for students. The bill also requires that at least 20 minutes of the lunch period be dedicated to students eating their lunch while seated.” It is unsure what the status of this bill is at this time, but it would surely delight students--and teachers, who would get a longer lunch break themselves--if the bill became reality.
If you're a student who wants to be able to have longer lunch in the future or have shorter lines, don’t be afraid to have a open conversation with the principal and the administration to make your thoughts and needs be heard.