This year, Leesville has introduced an alternative to the typical three-period lunches of most high schools and upperclassmen have displayed a generally positive attitude towards this.
SMART Lunch combines the former three lunch periods into one, longer span that aims towards “Students Maximizing Relationships And Time.” Students now have 57 minutes instead of the previous half-hour. Due to this change, over 2,000 students are now eating simultaneously. Fortunately, a good majority of upperclassmen are able to leave campus. Although, this presents problems of its own.
The overwhelming number of juniors and seniors now attempting to leave the parking lot at once has already been a source of chaos and confusion.
Emily Echols, senior, said, “I like SMART Lunch more than I thought I was going to do, but the parking lot is crazy. Hopefully it will get better in time.”
Another issue many upperclassmen will encounter when club meetings and other activities start. In essence, SMART Lunch is divided into two parts – A and B, with academic opportunities ranging from teacher assistance to intramural sports. While this idea seems like a positive way for students to create a balance between all of their activities, it may prove to be more of a hindrance than an advantage. If students can’t safely leave and return to school within 57 minutes, how will they do it in half that time?
However, if students choose to leave campus daily, and never or rarely attend a club meeting, this is a great alternative to the standard lunch procedure.
Andrea Lawless, senior and frequent off-campus venturer, said, “You have more time and more opportunities to get help with your academics and rushing back to campus from lunch is not as much of an issue anymore.”
So, for some, SMART Lunch appears to be working well and the transition to a longer lunch is welcomed. Nevertheless, only one week has passed since the introduction of SMART Lunch; and there is still a long way to see if it succeeds or not. At least for now, there seems to be no reason to change it.
