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By Charlie Miller

Hungry or not, when lunch comes around, you’ll likely be eating in Collegiate’s cafeteria. There is the option to bring your own lunch, but that requires a homemade meal to make, which in some cases your mom has to make every night or morning. This can be a hassle, especially for me, and that’s why I choose to eat at McFall Hall most days. Figuring out what to pack for lunch every day can get overwhelming, and because of this a significant amount of students tend to go with Collegiate’s meal plan. McFall has a line with pizza on most days, and then two-three other lines with the exact same food for whatever they are serving that day. There also is a salad and fruit bar, which I usually steer clear of. In my opinion, if you don’t like whatever is in those two or three lines, and you aren’t feeling the pizza line, you are in trouble. 

McFall Hall, Collegiate’s Middle and Upper School cafeteria. Photo credit: Private School Review.

My friends and I sometimes go the snack bar route in the Sharp Academic Commons, where they have snacks and bagels that you can put multiple toppings on. Although sometimes I don’t like the food in the cafeteria, it is always healthy and includes a high quality amount of protein most of the time. The salad bar is always a go-to option for some, if days are rough, and seems to be popular with the faculty.

Getting a quality lunch each day does not always happen for my friends and I, and being on the meal plan makes us weigh our options. Because of this, many conversations have come up in school about leaving campus during one’s lunch period to drive and get food. Whether in discussions in classes with teachers or around campus with my friends, this idea has been a topic of conversation for as long as I can remember. 

Being a Senior, I have been looking for more variety. With many restaurants and fast food places near Collegiate, I have always wondered why can’t we just go to them. Using the map app Waze, I have estimated the drive time to some the popular fast food places and restaurants that are near Collegiate. Chick-fil-A, located on Parham Road, is just a quick, seven-minute drive. The popular Chipotle Mexican Grill, Mod Pizza, and Jersey Mike’s, all by Regency Mall, are also a seven-minute drive. Fast food places Arby’s, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s, located in the Tuckahoe Village shopping center, are just eight minutes away. Clearly there are plenty of options and places for students to drive for lunch. 

Chick-fil-A official logo. Image credit: Chick-fil-A.

Having St. Christopher’s friends, we always talk about the rules between the two schools and how their school handles things differently. St. Chris senior Liam Wright explained that, “Only seniors are allowed to leave school for lunch to go and grab something, but we have to earn it as a senior privilege, which we have done as a class.”

On the other hand, being able to leave campus to go and get something to eat might more difficult than it seems initially. There are responsibilities and safety concerns that are a part of this argument. In order to get back to class on time, students would have to move quickly, because of the Upper School schedule and timing of classes. If you have a class during the lunch block, you are going to have to make the decision to get food, which might frequently be enticing if your friends have free periods during that certain lunch block.  

Upper School Dean of Students Mark Palyo reflected on this option with his own remarks, saying, “It goes back to what’s been in place at Collegiate ever since I’ve been here. It’s been viewed as a safety issue. Students need to get into vehicles to leave campus and have parents’ permission as well. Several years ago or so, there weren’t too many places nearby. This has been a rule at this school for a while.” He surprisingly added, “I would change the rule. I would let Seniors, and only Seniors, earn the privilege of going off campus. If they had a good block of time, then it would for sure make sense. For example, if the rotation falls into a time of 12:20-1:45, that’s long enough.” Palyo explained that if a student has the lunch block during free period, it would be plenty of time to go and grab something.

Senior Rhodes Sinnott (‘24) explained, “I just wish there could be an option to leave campus and go to places with friends, whether it’s a grab-and-go place or drive-through. It would be a convenience, since there are a lot of places near Collegiate now.” 

In my opinion, the best option for this all is for the Seniors to earn this right as a Senior privilege. If they earn this option, both they and their parents could sign a form regarding the responsibilities and rules of leaving school. I see this as a possible option for Collegiate to change that could change Seniors’ Upper School experience for the better. 

Featured image credit: Mike Mozart via flickr.