In years past, Fenton High has had three lunch periods, but recently this has changed. FHS now has only two lunch periods. Students say that having two lunches is better than having three. Some reasons being: better chances to be with friends, doesn’t interrupt class, more convenient, cleaner cafeteria and a safer environment. Many students like the new change. 

Having more kids in each lunch can benefit students in many ways. In each lunch there are 560-565 students, according to Assistant Principal Zach Bradley, which gives everyone an opportunity to sit with their friends since there are so many kids. When kids sit with their friends at lunch, it can help them forget about something bad that happened earlier that day or something that they are stressed about. Because they are having fun socializing with their friends and talking to each other, it’s a break in a demanding day. 

Talking with friends and acquaintances also releases a chemical in the brain which makes people feel good. According to time.com, “The researchers thought that people with more friends might have higher activity of endorphins: molecules released in the brain that regulate pain and makes us feel good.” Having two lunches instead of three gives students an opportunity to be exposed to more people they usually wouldn’t see or talk to on a daily basis, thus giving them a chance to make relationships with other peers, or different grade levels.

The congestion in the hallways is greatly reduced during the switch between lunches. In the past, one lunch was ending as another was starting and students going into lunch would block the hallways as other students were trying to leave the cafeteria. This lack of congestion also leads to the lunch periods feeling longer even though they are the same amount of time as last year.  “Lunches might feel a little bit longer,” Bradley said, “because we’re not rushing one group out to accommodate or prepare for another group coming in.”

One less lunch allows for kitchen and custodial staff to have a designated window of time in which to prepare for the second lunch— cutting down on the lunch-related clean-up, as the tables have to be wiped and the floors have to be swept twice rather than three times a day.

Having two lunches also makes for a safer environment. Having only two lunches allows two administrators to be in the lunchroom insead of one, which was what FHS did in years past. Two administrators in the lunchroom at a time is safer because they can more easily discipline students, have more people there for a medical emergency and have two sets of eyes watching students instead of one. Having two adults in the lunch room instead of one can benefit students because they can more easily watch out for bullying, resulting in a more secure environment for students. 

For many reasons, having two lunches is better than three. These reasons include: lunches have the chance to be safer with less bullying, more convenient staff members and this lunch configuration is the best for students’ learning and opportunities to socialize.