Students cut the lunch lines to get their food quick and find their friends. This causes crowding and is unfair to the students who wait. The school has now added security to monitor the lines.
Staff and students alike have noticed a lot of cutting in the lunch lines. The school felt it was necessary to do something about the issue. Their resolution was to add security to hold students accountable for their behavior. Security guard Hawa Lahai has been tasked with watching the lunch lines.
“I felt it was necessary to monitor the lunch lines because some people were not doing what they were supposed to do,” Lahai said. “I’m just there to remind them to do the right thing, no cutting. It’s disrespectful.”
There were already adults in the area of the lunch lines. The lunch ladies were there to make sure the students wouldn’t cut on top of their given jobs. However, the students did not respect the lunch ladies enough to listen to their instructions.
“The people were just cutting in front of other people… being rude,” Lahai said. “Students were not listening to the lunch ladies.”
The goal was for the school to eventually no longer need security monitoring the lunch lines. They hoped that the security guards’ instructions would create a lasting culture of integrity among the students. Security guards have already noticed a difference in the students’ behavior.
“[The behavior] has changed dramatically,” Lahai said. “Now people are mindful of not cutting. When they see [a security guard] there, they don’t do what they were doing before.”
Naturally, students have not had the best reaction to this change by the school. Many students who used to cut the line are now negatively affected by it. Junior Milan James was one of these students.
“One time when I came to lunch with my friends, I told him to save my spot at the senior table,” James said. “I went back in the line and Mr. McDonald yelled at me, like, told me to go back even though I had a spot saved. So, I think it’s really annoying sometimes because they can set authority that is unwanted.”
Obviously, there is some bias on the topic with the opinion of students who cut the lunch lines. Despite this, James still understands the positive effects of this change.
“[The change] is good because I know a lot of people who skip and it can make the people who actually wait feel bad,” James said. “It can have some benefits, but it can also have some negativities.”
Like James mentioned, there are students who are positively affected by this. Students who didn’t cut the lines are extremely pleased with the change. Junior Guy Jackson talks on his experience in the lunch lines before the change and how it has improved.
“PTSD is really the only phrase that properly encapsulates the horrors I faced in the John Champe High School lunch lines prior to the new rules,” Jackson said. “However, thanks to the newfound order bestowed by our outgoing, exceptional security [guards], I am now saved…”
In the end, the school hopes this will benefit all parties. With everyone following directions and following the rules of the lunchline, the whole system will run smoothly. Everyone should get their food in an orderly fashion.
“I am greatly pleased with the new rules that are being implemented in the JCHS lunch line. Now things are more orderly thanks to our brave, gallant security officers,” Jackson said. “The lunch line has never been a more pleasant experience, we can safely enjoy lunch in peace once again.”
