-No Food, No School?

Done by: Tru Farray

It’s a regular day at school. You go to your classes and you are bored out of your wits. The one thing you are looking forward to is lunch for the day so that way when you get to your other classes, you’ll survive. You go through this cycle everyday until graduation. But wait a minute. It’s another day of school. You go to your second period class and BAM!!!! You find out there is no school lunch! And to top it off, WAPA cuts off the current!

On Monday May 10, 2010, due to power outages, the compressor in the refrigerator in the school kitchen started having problems. The next day, Tuesday, the school lunch delivery van came and dropped off a lot of food in the kitchen, but the compressor was not working 100%. There was no other available way to keep the food from spoiling.

On Wednesday morning the food was completely spoiled. The inspector was called from the Department of Health. The news got out to the students and it started a “chain reaction,” in the words of Principal Sharon McCollum. The current went off and there were several disruptions that occurred as a result of this issue. School was dismissed early and the school buses were called in.

The next day, Thursday, no breakfast was served and during second period the students formed a protest in which they said, “No Food! No School!” The students made signs and wrote the saying on their hands. There were also text messages being sent around telling other students to protest. A ninth grader stated, “I don’t appreciate the fact that it don’t have food, current cutting off and it is so hot and they can’t send us home?”

A junior stated, “ This is some serious c--- they tryin’ starve us and make us stay in school like we gon be able to function, this school is full of it.”

The monitors told the principal and Dr. McCollum took immediate action. She came from her office and urged students to go to their classes. The drama that happened in Kean High School that day was broadcast on News 2 showing the students marching with the protest signs and Dr. McCollum explaining what happened. For several days there were late lunches because the food was being prepared at BCB Middle School.

According to Dr. McCollum, “There is a right and wrong way to do things, and this was not the correct way to handle it.” No one was suspended or sent home, but Dr. McCollum did cancel Reading Period temporarily because she didn’t want the chaos to come back. She said, “Yes, they have a right to stand up for what they believe in, but the school’s gym hasn’t been repaired yet, we don’t have a track or field, and we are in need of an auditorium. How come they are not protesting or saying anything about that?” She also stated, “Why hasn’t this been brought up to the Student Council?”

As of now, the cafeteria can serve food and everything is back to normal with the exception of power outages, which are a recurring problem. The compressor in the refrigerator has been fixed and the food is fresh. The students are calm now and returning back to the regular schedules. A 10^th grade student stated, “I’m so glad they have food now so I don’t have to turn into the Hulk no more.”