Lafayette High School recently made a rule about having food delivered or dropped off during lunch. In the past, students could have food dropped off but only during lunch time, and they would be able to pick it up during their lunch break. Concerned with the safety of the schools and the interruption of students’ education, LHS administration has revoked the rule allowing food to be dropped off at the front office (usually by parents or friends), when the student has to leave class and go to the front office to pick up their food.

There are concerns that the delivery people could be a dangerous person posing as a delivery driver. Administration further says school is not the place for food to be delivered.

However, the students say that this is just not necessary, and is adding to a sense of oppression, who feel that when they do leave to pick it up, they are only missing a few  minutes of class, nothing worth raising a fuss over.

“It’s just another power grab by the current administration, bringing in food in the past has presented no danger to both students and faculty. Responsible students should not have to pay for the mistakes of people who couldn’t care less to be here,” said Matt Zayas, Lafayette Senior.  Steven Little, LHS Senior, added his two cents, saying, “I don’t order food to the school so it doesn’t really affect me”

It would make more sense if the students who abused the old rule in the past were the only ones punished with the new rule. The students that ruin people’s freedom for lunch by wandering the school, or leaving campus to get food, are responsible for this new, punishing regulation of our freedoms and privileges.  There are those who take advantage of having food delivered; they waste time wandering around the hallways on their way to pick it up from the front office, and returning to class. These students are selfish and don’t care about anyone else.  They do everything in their own way, and even if administration tries to enforce rules they disobey them, ruining it for everybody else.

Furthermore, if the delivery driver is an unknown person that is allowed into the building, this poses a security threat to the students as the driver could be a criminal that could hurt students and staff.

There are many among the student body who feel that trying to enforce such a harmless rule is ridiculous. The WJCC student handbooks is a contract between students and the schools. The handbook states all the rules of all WJCC schools, but the new rule is not stated in the student handbooks. Since this rule isn’t stated, students should have total freedom to have food delivered to the school. These are the only rules listed in the handbook for students to follow during lunch:

• Remain on campus during lunch.
• Pay for their meals: no meal credits are given.
• Wait patiently in line.
• Eat only in the cafeteria or other approved areas.
• Keep the table areas clean by removing their trays and garbage to the dishwashing area.
• Conduct themselves appropriately at all times.

Students do not have a contractual agreement that they won’t order food, therefore one could argue that trying to enforce this rule is an invalid agreement.

Let us consider an alternative approach to this issue: students should have 5 minutes to go pick up their food and return to class promptly. They have to sign a pass with the date and time, like the Ramports we use to have. Students have 3 strikes to follow the rules, after 3 strikes they get their phone taken away until the end of the school day. To get their phone back they have to sign a contract that they will follow the rules.  If they continue to receive strikes then they get their phone taken away, they get written up for technology infraction. The WJCC school board could state in the future handbooks this version of the rule, which would benefit the students the most. Only students that broke the rules would be punished, allowing innocent students to keep their freedom of lunch choice.