Opinion

Should Gloucester High School Be An Open Campus?

Editor Amber Howle

Lunchtime, a favored time at Gloucester High School. Whether yours is at 10:58 or 12:37, it's a great free portion of time to socialize, eat, and take a quick break from school life. But what about the food itself? Cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, subs, salads, and fries just about everyday of the week. How about an open campus? Being able to leave the school to go get lunch from a nearby fast food restaurant, sounds great right? But GHS is not an open campus. How do students feel about this, do they want an open campus for GHS?

Students around Gloucester High were asked Do you think GHS should be an open campus? Quotes were collected from every class to give a school wide perspective. “Yes, so we can go get better lunch,” said Sophomore Miranda Glinsky. Junior Ethan Miller stated, “Yes, because it will give people more options, and is good for the food industry.” Many of the people interviewed agreed about the open campus idea. Sophomore Layne Bowen said, “Yeah, because I want Wendy’s.” Sophomore Leighann Harper said, “ Yes, because the school food sucks, and it makes people feel sick, and even if there was a sign out system it would be better than being forced.” A good amount of students do want GHS to be an open campus.

But does everyone want GHS to be an open campus? Senior Hunter Emanus was asked what he thinks and he stated, “No, because time complications may require an extended school day.” Freshman Maddison Pierson said, “No, because people could just drive in and out of campus. It can cause problems with loss of track of time.”

The most passionate answer given was from Junior Kaylee Walls who declared, “I honestly think the fact that we don't have an open campus is repulsive. With an open campus we would be able to express ourselves using food. With close fast food restaurants like Wendy’s, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Cook Out, Chick-fil-a, it is out right spiteful to not offer the option to be able to get food during lunches. We love food.” Kaylee felt very intensely about this issue.

Students, teachers, and business owners would be helped with the idea. Small businesses and fast food places would make more money off of the lunch rush. Leaving the school for a bit would benefit students to help them escape the busy and stressful day. This would help both students and teachers by giving them more options for food choice. Gloucester High School should be an open campus because it would do good for everyone.

In conclusion, most of the student body thinks an open campus is a great idea and would enjoy having access to local fast food. While some students are on the fence about it or don’t want it at all, it could be good for everyone. An open campus would greatly benefit Gloucester’s economy and satisfy the needs of students.