Since the moment you woke up this morning it was clear, you needed Chick-fil-A. You spent breakfast cursing that Eggo waffle for not transforming into chicken nuggets, hours of grueling school work with only the image of that Deluxe Chicken Sandwich keeping you going. With every breath and math problem it calls to you: Chick-fil-A. Then it finally happens, fourth period has ended.

It’s time.

As soon as advisory ends you race to your car, heart filling with joy as the drive thru comes into view. The time for Chick-fil-A has finally arrived.

But then you wake up from this beautiful dream. The crushing realization students cannot leave campus for lunch dawns upon you. You simply fell asleep in your fourth period free, and today you will be eating a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.

This is a struggle faced by STA students every single day.

Yes, I realize I am a junior and this rule  would not apply to me until next year, but of course I still wish that my senior year would be filled with as many fast food lunches as my heart desires. I also do not look forward to knowing across State Line my friends at Shawnee Mission East High School are chowing down on Chipotle, as I stare at the carrots I packed for lunch.

East, like other high schools in the area, has a system allowing their seniors to venture out into the real world for their midday meal. As long as students leave through the main office and are back before class starts, they are free to lunch as they please. Logically, this right can be taken away if students are often late back to class or participate in illegal activities while they are out.

According to STA principal of student affairs Dr. Liz Baker, the school does not allow students leave because teachers and administrators are “in loco parentis.” This is a legal situation in which students become the responsibility of said teachers and administrators once they officially enter the campus. If a student were to leave campus for lunch it would require a parent’s permission, and this would be administratively and resourcefully inefficient.

But what if seniors were only able to leave campus for lunch on a certain day of the week, making it potentially easier to obtain parent permission? To ensure student liability, a similar system to allowing seniors to go without accountabilities could be adopted. If a junior went both semesters without an SBR or being tardy, they earn the right to a leave campus for lunch the following year. In addition, the check in and check out system already used for appointments could be adopted to keep track of students who leaving and returning from lunch.
Just imagine, one day a week, that beautiful Chick-fil-A dream could be a reality.