The stale air of the pale grey ISS room surrounds him, as he hears students pass the portable building during a passing period, chatting and laughing with friends. Unable to join his friends, he glances at the clock, realizing he still has six more hours left in this dreadful detention. As he is scolded for daydreaming, he quickly gets back to work copying pages of the Encyclopedia, feeling regretful of yesterday’s decisions. If only the underclassman would have chosen to obey the rules and stay on campus for lunch, he could have enjoyed a normal school day with his friends.

                The closed-campus lunch rule is one of the biggest complaints amongst underclassmen. However, the rule is completely logical and should be followed without argument by freshmen and sophomores.

                First, the majority of freshmen and sophomores are under 16 years of age. Although these students do not obtain a license, their desperation to go off campus for lunch does not cease. This results in many unlicensed students piling into the cars of those who do have the ability to drive. As if teenage drivers don’t already have enough distractions behind the wheel, imagine having a zoo of underclassmen stuffed in the backseat. I think we can all agree in saying that this situation is an accident waiting to happen. Rather than considering the rule as a form of punishment or being unfair, consider the fact that it is helping keep the student body safe.

                A simple trip through the commons during the day will prove that there is in fact quite a substantial maturity difference between the upper and underclassmen. Therefore, closed campus lunch for freshmen and sophomores is a good idea because it allows an extra 50 minutes for these students to work on homework, make up work and get extra help from teachers. Keeping these students on campus can help them to take care of business and school work that is vital to the rest of their high school careers. After all, let’s be real. How hard is it to stay on campus and take care of business when McDonald’s is calling your name down the street?

                Upperclassmen and teachers both experience the anxiety associated with the terribly large amount of traffic that emerges as soon as the lunch release bell rings. Imagine if every underclassman were also free to leave campus at this time. The tardy bell would be ringing by the time each of us made it out of the parking lot and onto Bell Street. Not to mention the length of the lines at each nearby fast food restaurant. It would be annoying, frustrating and dangerous to have any more students leaving campus for lunch.

                All in all, it is for everyone’s safety and comfort that freshmen and sophomores are expected to stay on campus during lunch time. Not only does it help lessen the amount of accidents, but it can encourage students to spend more time on school work. Juniors and seniors have each waited their allotted amount of time to go off campus for lunch, as underclassmen should too without complaints.