When students returned to school in August they were met with a reviewed food and drink policy: “All food and drinks must be consumed in the cafeteria or in a designated room during nutrition break, and store bought drinks must be put in a personal container.”
Several students said they disagree with this new rule.
“As a senior I feel like I should be given more responsibilities and by being able to bring drinks in their original cups, that responsibility would be reflected,” said senior Ava Barone
Sophomore Caleb Gerhart agreed, “Students should not be forced to put drinks into personal containers, if a spill were to happen, the drink being in a personal container wouldn’t prevent that.”
Conversely, many teachers believe the new policy is working and don’t see a problem with it.
“Teachers this year have been on the same page about the policy, causing it to be positively transmitted to students,” said business teacher Ryan Cody. “Personally I haven’t dealt with problems towards the policy because of how transparent we are with students.”
Cody said that the consistency to uphold the food and drink policy through all grades is what makes it so efficient this year.
Alternatively, some students feel the policy does not benefit the school, but rather hurts it.
“The policy just forces kids to sneak drinks into school, causing more spills than if we could just bring them in normally,” said junior Raegan Merloni. “And if there are spills, then students should be responsible to clean them up.”
Administration hopes to be reasonable and fair towards students, “We are trying to be reasonable with the policy while also avoiding spills and preventing janitors from having to clean up those spills,” said Assistant Principal Matthew Lane.
With policies being reviewed each year once school gets out, rules are constantly changing to benefit the school as a whole and to protect both students and faculty.
“I hope that next year there will be changes made to the policy in order to create a more fair and just process to controlling spills in the school,” said junior Ty Briggs.
With the policy set to be reviewed again at the end of the year, students and staff wait to see what next year will bring.
“At the end of the day, we want to be treated with respect and like young adults,” said Barone— a commonly held opinion of many Wachusett students.
