The Real Reason Food Isn't Allowed In Class
This controversial school policy has raised many questions from the student body. The Blackshirt gets an official administrative explanation.
When the 2017-2018 school year started, students were hit with an unexpected policy change regarding food and drink. This seemed to affect seniors and juniors, who are allowed to leave campus during the lunch period, and their daily routine.
The new policy has been strongly enforced by administration, and does not allow students to bring food outside the cafeteria. However, students are allowed to bring food from somewhere off-campus to eat in the cafeteria. This left many students questioning: Why the sudden change since last year? I sat down with Mr. Steve Fisher, Assistant Principal here at South, to discuss the reasons behind the new policy change.
Sanitation
Sanitation had been a major concern for the school prior to this policy change. In the last couple of years, as food was allowed in classrooms, Mr. Fisher said hallways were full of trash. Since students were not properly throwing away their garbage and leftovers, this contributed to an ant and rodent problem in the building. With food now being limited to the cafeteria, these problems have begun to fade away.
As parents of students from both South and other schools attended school sporting events the year before the policy change, there were many complaints and reports of these sanitation issues, which had been brought to the attention of administration. South isn’t a place that should be defined by the trash in the hallways, but instead the student body as a whole.
Class Distraction
Some faculty have found food to be a distraction from the learning environment. Students and teachers alike believe that food disrupts a classroom setting. Mr. Fisher weighs in on an example: “Say you bring in a pizza from Pizza Hut and a soda, and there's someone in that class that hasn't eaten. That person is distracted because he is thinking about food rather than what's going on in class.”
To be clear: students ARE allowed to bring in food as long as they eat it in the cafeteria. Administrators just ask that you keep it out of the classrooms and keep it in the cafeteria. Lastly, as you leave school for lunch, remember to drive safely and return to school in a timely fashion.