Placer’s closed campus lunch rumors put to rest
With the opening of the Learning Commons/Cafeteria, several rumors and concerns have circulated around Placer High School’s campus questioning whether or not it would remain open.
Mr. Ittner said in response to being asked if there are any plans in the near future to.
Many people speculated that the possibility of off-campus lunch ending would be in correlation with the brand new cafeteria, which is estimated to be done roughly by the end of 2022. The new Learning Commons/Cafeteria will provide students with not only a place to eat and study but also a place to socialize amongst their peers.
Mr. Ittner, Placer High Schools’ principal, explained that the hope is for more students to choose to eat on campus because of all the new amenities rather than forcing students to eat on campus. He went on to say how closing the campus would be difficult considering how our campus is designed.
Students have expressed their anger and confusion as to why the campus would be closed, feeling very strongly that an open campus is a part of what makes Placer so unique. “I think that’s kinda stupid, I mean students are going to leave either way.” Student, Mila Balaban, said after being asked how she felt about the campus closing during lunch.
Additionally, Placer Alumni have supported an open campus as they shared their opinions on the thought of the campus being closed. “As an alumnus and as far as a tradition I think it would be sad. I think having an open campus really helps our students gain a level of maturity and respect that a closed campus doesn’t allow,” Kaija Perkins-Uno, said as she voiced her opinion on the matter. She went on to say that “having an open campus is a wonderful opportunity for students to grow and to feel independent.”.
However many parents and staff members have shown concern with an open campus, the main one being the wellbeing and safety of students. Many parents tend to wonder if student drivers are exercising caution when they quickly drive from school to their destination in under 40 minutes. When speaking of the topic Ittner expressed that “the biggest scary thing about it is students driving. They’re driving too fast, driving to get to places to eat.”
While an open campus does allow for students to be independent it also leaves students’ safety out of the schools’ control. Perkins-Uno shared her thoughts saying, “when you’re all in one place it’s typically safer.” She explained that it is easier for staff to ensure students’ safety when they are all present on campus.
Placer teacher, Brittany Haydon, also shared how she felt that when students leave campus “students lose a little bit in terms of community”. She went on to say how if Placer wanted to promote students staying on campus they could offer, “more activities and fun so that it’s a place where people want to converse and be with their friends.”
With Placer High School’s new additions in the upcoming year, the off-campus lunch option will continue to be an option for students.
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Jason • Jun 15, 2023 at 10:13 pm
As an alumni I must say it would be a sad day if they ever decided to start doing closed campus lunches. More or less I agree with whats already been said about it. It is a defining characteristic of Placer High School one that adds to its charm. I also feel it helps to give students a chance to grow in maturity that will only further help them in their soon to be adult lives. One thing I would like to add is that for a school with off campus lunches I feel that all of the negative points that could be said about it are statistically very low. Things like car accidents, speeding, truancy, trespassing, littering, etc. are all in relatively low numbers that are equal to or only slightly higher than similar high schools in the area that have closed campus lunches. I believe one of the biggest factors for that are the campus patrol, school officer, and police presence in the area during lunch and by police presence I mean usually a single squad car simply doing their job and patrolling the nearby streets. I think the fact that there isn’t a need for more than that is very important in keeping the community feel that comes with going to school at Placer I meant in a lot of areas across the street from the school is peoples homes. Finally the last point I have is the easiest one if Placer’s lunches become closed campus quite a few businesses would suffer heavy losses because of it and in this day and age it is possible that some of these businesses may have to close their doors because of it and I think we could all do without any more of that for awhile if possible.