There are several sides to a closed-campus policy. When we are told we have a closed campus we often think of the challenge of bad, disgusting, and nasty food such as hamburgers, beef tacos, and nachos. This can be solved by simply opening the campus for lunch.

This adds a realm of choices for food and drinks and gets you prepared for college and the real world. Most if not all colleges are open campus, which means you can come and go as you please, specifically for lunch.

However, this may create a safety issue. By keeping a closed campus you have an eye on all students at all times. There are several options though. The school can create a way to check back into the building after you leave for lunch, using things like IDs to get back into the building. This can create an easy and more accessible way to get back into the building while knowing where the students are.

There are several reasons why a student might not enjoy school food whether they’re lactose intolerant, gluten-free, or simply don’t like the school lunch. However, there are also several benefits of an open campus. It gives the students a break from school even if it’s only for 30 minutes, it allows them to enjoy time with their friends as well as medical and physiological benefits.

Studies show that when students have the choice of what to eat they are better prepared to learn and are more energized. There are also long-term medical conditions resulting from eating similar foods every day.  Some of these are depression, Alzheimer’s, and certain forms of cancer. We can solve this problem by opening our campus for lunch, it will give us all a wider variety of choices and a happier overall lifestyle.