With the return of Lion Lunch, many students are speculating if Lion Lunch has more disadvantages than advantages. Some believe that the three-lunch schedule was more beneficial. I personally believe that Lion Lunch was far more beneficial than three Lunches even with the new changes. It allows students to have the freedom of choosing where they want to spend their time, who they want to communicate with, and it creates an opportunity for students to participate in school activities and clubs.
Lion lunch is a privilege that students at Tallwood High School earned in the 2022-2023 school year. It was my first year here, so this was a new experience for me because I was used to the three-lunch schedule. At first, lion lunch felt like a great idea, it started the second semester of the 22-23 school year and lasted through the beginning of the 23-24 school year.
However, Students began to take advantage of this privilege reaping unfavorable consequences. Student fights, destruction of school property, and immaturity from some members of the student body led to videos, edits, and rumors spreading around the school and seemingly making it an unsafe environment for both students and administration who tried their best to avoid the chaotic events.
As a response to the current events, Dr. O’Meara decided it was in everyone’s best interest to revisit the three lunch schedules. This made many students, along with teachers, upset because everyone was being punished for a few students’ actions.
The three scheduled lunches caused many inconveniences. Students lacked communication with friends due to the separation in lunches. Friendships and bonds began to become distant and people began to worry about who they could sit with and where they could go. I luckily had a group of friends that I was with, but I feared the cafeteria. Every time I went into the cafeteria I got nervous and anxious. The loud noises, large crowds, and lack of space were too overwhelming and made me uncomfortable. My group and I found a place in the commons that fit our needs, and we sat there until the recurrence of lion lunch began.
As the administration began preparing students for the return of lion lunch, students, along with myself, felt anticipation. Many new rules came about which made students feel limited to where they could go and what they could do.
Despite the new rules, the return of Lion Lunch was successful. It was easier to fall behind in class during the three-lunch schedule, but one lunch made catching up on work more accessible.
With the split lunches, students had to come after school for help. Students only had the choice to come after school for group gatherings and club events were nearly impossible to attend. The return of Lion Lunch allowed students to do activities they enjoyed while being caught up on their schoolwork.
While all of these were benefits, the extension of time was the biggest benefit for me and other students. I was able to do classwork that I didn’t finish or wanted to get ahead on, talk to teachers or students, and take time to just breathe. There are also some challenges such as longer lines and more crowded halls, but the good outweighs the bad.
I feel that students at Tallwood as well as myself, have benefited from the Lion lunch schedule. Students are allowed more independence, but they have more discipline and enforced order than they have had previously. I hope this schedule remains for the rest of the year and more to come.
