The question of if students should be allowed to leave the school campus during lunch or study hall has been a controversial topic in recent years.
Throughout schools in the same area as Pleasant Valley High School, there are many who allow students to leave their campus during study halls and lunch, such as Bettendorf High School. Assumption, along with PV, is one of the many schools in the area that do not allow open campus lunch or study hall.
Even with the way things have been thus far, Pleasant Valley should allow for an open campus lunch and study hall. The benefits of having an open campus would aid student autonomy and allow students to take more responsibility in their schedule. “If students have to come back from lunch on their own time, they have to be more responsible or else they’ll face the consequences of not managing their time well,” said junior Erin McMahon.
After graduating from PV, most students will be completely responsible for their own schedules. Having an open campus during study hall and lunch would teach students time efficiency. PV prides itself on preparing students for life after high school, but by restricting times when they could be learning responsibility they are not allowing students to prepare themselves.
However, the problems that arise with allowing an open campus must be considered as well. . “Bettendorf has a block schedule, so their classes are a lot longer than ours, and their lunch is longer than ours as well…but the number one reason for us is just school safety,” said associate Principal Jason Jones.
Jones explains the valid points for why PV isn’t jumping to allow open campus. Issues such as safety concerns and timing conflicts currently prevent PV from allowing students to have open campus lunch or study hall. “It’s definitely something we’re open to, but really we have a lot of concerns, you know, from the safety side of things,” says Jones.
Although to many students it seems as if the faculty are not considering allowing open campus lunch, it is a topic that they are still currently debating. We can stay hopeful that they will eventually allow it.
