Due to recent altercations among students, Tallwood’s lunch schedule has again changed from one to three lunches.
“The safety of students is the number one priority at all times,” said Dr. O’Meara, Tallwood High School principal.
This is not the first time a schedule change occurred. The day before Thanksgiving break, multiple physical altercations broke out during lunch. Later that evening, a message was sent out saying that Lion Lunch would be replaced with a three lunch schedule.
Nina Grai, Tallwood senior, claimed the three lunch schedule was “kind of chaotic…it messes up the early release thing and it’s frustrating for seniors.” Grai, along with many other seniors, agree and feel as though they are being punished for the actions of others.
So when Lion Lunch made its return at the beginning of second semester, many students were relieved to have some sense of normalcy back. However, there were a few minor changes made to the schedule to keep as few people as possible from roaming the halls. Some of those rules included seniors with early release leaving class five minutes early, and all students present for lunch being required to stay seated in one play for the entirety of lunch.
But over time, students reported that the rules seemed to grow more and more lenient, and minor physical altercations continued. On top of a few altercations, there were also some threats spread by students against the school. However, with thorough investigations on each of these, administrators at Tallwood claimed the threats were not credible, and students involved were disciplined accordingly.
At the beginning of May, another group of physical altercations occurred, causing Lion Lunch to be cancelled for the second time, and just one month before the end of the school year.
Students across the school voiced their frustration with the situation. Some students even went as far as to start questioning the safety of Tallwood. Veronica Arroyo voiced her opinion on the issue, saying, “I feel like lately it hasn’t been too safe. I feel like it should be a little more protected…like in the hallways and towards the bathrooms…”
Other students believe Tallwood is still a very safe school. Juliana Vera, Tallwood senior claimed, “Yes I do [feel safe at Tallwood]. I think that there really is no way to ever be completely safe because people are unpredictable.”
Brooke Miller, also a Tallwood senior, reported feeling safe while at Tallwood.
When interviewed, Dr. O’Meara emphasized this sense of safety.
“I want to recognize that when we have Lion Lunch, 99% of students do the right thing…I’m very appreciative of what these students do,” O’Meara said.
He added, “We take any of those things [threats] very seriously…every available measure has been taken to make sure nothing is going to happen as a result of what was said.”
While it is impossible to ensure every student will follow the rules put in place, it is important to note that the school takes every precaution necessary to keep students safe while at school.
