Of all the scheduled periods on the daily schedule, students probably look forward to lunch more than any other.

The current lunch period is shorter than ever at 36 minutes. Last year is was 37 and the year before that students enjoyed 40 minutes. Thirty-six minutes is not enough

Many students agree with this argument. “Since we have an open campus at lunch time, students should be able to have enough time to drive to somewhere, get food, eat, and drive back,” said sophomore Morgan McGee. She brings up a good point. Although students do enjoy the privilege of leaving campus, they really have to hurry or else risk being late to 4th hour.

There are many benefits to students having a longer lunch, Washington’s King County School District reports. “Longer school lunch periods result in less food waste as well as improved student performance, cognitive function, physical health, and social/emotional health.” We need to look into these benefits more and consider how they could help us.

Yes, the elementary schools have a 30 minute lunch, but they don’t drive anywhere. That gives high school students 6 minutes to drive to their destination and back while having to fight the traffic of the parking lot at lunch time. Many high school students have the attention span of elementary students and need a longer, more relaxing lunch to prepare for the classroom rigors of the afternoon.

I think SVHS as a whole would see many benefits to a longer lunch.