Where Will Students Eat Lunch During the Winter?

Although SHS students have been able to enjoy a mostly normal school year thus far, lunch has still not returned to its pre-COVID form.

It is a key part of everyone’s high school experience to gather around the lunch table, engage in heated arguments, and joke around with friends. Unfortunately, COVID has made it difficult for students to get the full lunch experience. However, students have a somewhat normal situation outside with no masks and chairs and tables set up near each other. This format is the most normal lunch experience the class of 2022 will likely have before they graduate. Given the current weather patterns, students have had no issues eating outside. When winter comes, however, the current lunch system will likely need to be modified.

If it is too cold to sit outside, students will be forced to head inside, where the lunch situation is certainly atypical. Desks are spread apart, masks must be on when not eating, and students are required to scan the Q.R. code on their desk to input their seat for that period. This makes it hard to engage in usual lunch activities.

So, what will SHS students do? Some students say they would prefer to be inside to avoid the cold weather. “Being inside is fine if the alternative is being really cold,” said Juan Marini ‘22. “I would prefer to stay inside. Although I would love to avoid COVID protocols by being outside, it is simply too cold during the winter,” agreed Zakir Amin ‘22. 

Some, on the other hand, would prefer to endure the cold weather in exchange for a semblance of normality at lunch. “I would prefer to eat outside during the cold weather, so I can take my mask off and hang out with friends without being restricted,” said Zach Ruback ‘24.

In this COVID world, everyone has had to make certain choices to balance normality with caution. It will be interesting to see how SHS students handle this situation as the year progresses.