On May 9, 2024, an incident occurred at Tallwood High School that led to yet another lunch schedule change. For the second time this school year, one lunch became three. However, to better benefit students and the wider Tallwood community, both students and administrators must commit to the return of one lunch.

One lunch benefits students and teachers equally.  One lunch allows students to be able to communicate with one another, seek out tutoring, join clubs, and participate in other academic opportunities. This benefits teachers because they won’t have to stay after until everyone leaves from clubs, tutoring, and other academics. Yes, people stay after school anyways, but there is a difference in number. One-hundred students staying after school is far more more manageable than one-thousand.

Students overall should learn how to act and behave. Don’t act out at school if you wouldn’t do it at home or any other public place. In the real world, there are real consequences. If someone fights another person at McDonalds, for example, they could get arrested and possibly go to jail. They don’t punish everyone who was there, only the people who were fighting.  If two people fight at school, however, it too often seems like everyone gets punished for it. 

Obviously, for a schoolwide policy of one lunch to remain in place, these misbehaving students need to be held accountable, but this is only a small portion of the Tallwood population. There is a dangerous trend within the general student body of gifting these fighters the attention they crave, only causing more disruption. Students should stop filming and crowding around fights.

The administration, on the other hand, would benefit from enforcing harsher punishments for students who get into fights. A zero tolerance fighting policy would discourage students from fighting under threat of expulsion. The administration could implement a system of remedial classes that focus on conflict resolution. These classes would take place as a replacement for the lunch period of the students who get into fights. 

Administration needs to figure out a better punishment for students who fight and misbehave. And students in high school should be old enough to know better.