Should we only have one lunch period?

We should have one of our lunches removed and have an extended lunch period in Fuquay Varina High School. Having an extended lunch enables us to go off campus, as well as allowing us to be able to communicate with friends.

Some students have social anxiety, which makes the process of making new friends difficult. Eating alone during lunch can feel lonely and humiliating.

“The two lunches will split apart friends, possibly making one or the other friend alone,” said junior Jaxela Opiyo. 

Another reason is that the amount of time to eat lunch within 37 minutes is too short.

 “If we go off campus, we are expected to get food and come back on time. There is traffic and problems with orders or machines, which takes longer. This makes us late, and we don’t have time to eat,” said Opiyo.

Junior Sydney King agrees with this statement. She says that some teachers do not allow students to eat in their classrooms, which results in students being left hungry.

There are benefits to having a longer lunch period as well. 

“Having one lunch period that is extended allows students to have study halls,” said King.

One lunch period means that teachers aren’t in class and are available to teach students who need their help. Right now, students might not be able to go to a particular teacher for help during lunch because of the teacher’s schedule. Going after school for help might not work for the students if they have extracurricular activities.

Although having different lunches might help us introduce ourselves to someone new, creating an opportunity to have a variety of friends, the benefits of one extended lunch outweigh that.