Off-Campus Lunch?

Yes

By Jordan Turner

Staff Writer

“How come DV doesn’t have off campus lunch?”

This is the big controversial question that often crosses a lot of DV student’s minds. Who wants to eat the same soggy pizza and stale rice that is the school lunch every day? Let’s be honest … No one! So why not have off-campus lunch?

With off-campus lunch, students would be able to go home and eat, or go eat at a local restaurant. Many students wake up late because they were up late studying the night before, and therefore in the morning, just rush out the house and forget to pack themselves a lunch. Having the option to go off campus to get lunch gives students the opportunity to eat lunch and not skip a meal. Plus, being able to leave campus and enjoy eating lunch out with your friends gives students a chance to relax and take a break from all the stress and pressure of being at school.

Also, school lunch is expensive. It is about $4.00 for one slice of pizza and a milk. Why pay for this when you could go to Safeway and get a better quality slice of pizza, chips, and a drink of your choice for the same price? Giving students the privilege to eat off-campus would provide them with them real world experiences and situations and they would gain more responsibility.

Not only would this benefit the student, but it would also help out local businesses. Many independently owned restaurants near our school get shut down because they don’t get enough business. If Dougherty allowed its students to eat lunch off-campus, they would go eat at these restaurants and give them more business, thus helping the economy!

Off-campus lunch is overall just a better situation than forcing students to stay on campus and eat the school food. It will help make the students’ days more bearable and will improve their overall high school experience!

 

No

By Mimi Evans

As one picks apart yet another subpar burrito or eats a floppy slice of pepperoni for the third day in a row, the inevitable question arises: Why doesn’t Dougherty have an open campus during lunch?

As wonderful as the idea sounds, it would never work for DVHS. Dougherty already contends with tardies in the morning, especially on block days. The number of tardies to fifth period on regular days and third and sixth on block days would increase exponentially. This is not because students will purposely use the open-campus as an excuse to be late, but for the simple fact that we will sacrifice our perfect attendance record for the five-dollar latte or hastily-made sub that we paid for. Our split-second decision between food and punctuality in a time-crunch will undoubtedly go to the former.

Schools like San Ramon Valley High are able to have open campus lunch because they have restaurants within walking distance. There are no restaurants within walking distance of Dougherty. That means open campus could only be utilized by Seniors and a few lucky Juniors. Even the upperclassmen who do have a vehicle must be content with slim pickings. It will still take a good ten minutes to the Safeway Plaza and back, and the next closest restaurants are near Blackhawk and take a sixteen-minute roundtrip. There is no possibility to have a sit-down meal with nineteen minutes, so Juice Zone and McDonalds are the main fast-food options.

The most dangerous aspect of off-campus lunch is transportation. Undoubtedly and good-heartedly, students will want to drive their friends to lunch. But most students do not have their full license yet, so technically driving other minors (and even those who are eighteen) is illegal. No one wants to go out for popcorn chicken and return with a ticket. And, of course, car accidents as students rush to and from Dougherty will be an increasing possibility.

An open campus at Dougherty is simply a huge liability for minimal returns. While the school’s fried rice medley might not be worth the risk, neither is endangering yourself just to avoid it.