Chewing gum at school is an immediately punishable offense, but should it be? According to the NDA school handbook, “Chewing gum is not permitted. First Incident: 2 detentions.”

My opinion is that this rule does not benefit the students. The rule is implying that the administration believes high school students are incapable of being responsible and sees gum as a completely negative item. On the contrary, gum can be positive in many ways.

Banning gum within school does actually come with many downsides. Chewing gum has been proven to increase levels of concentration during class and with schoolwork.

According to Baylor College of Medicine, “Students who chewed gum had a significantly greater increase in their standardized math test scores after 14 weeks of chewing gum in math class and while doing homework compared to those who did not chew gum.” Getting to chew gum and having having a better test result? That’s a yes from me.  

Gum also has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, especially in classroom settings. Gum can also positively affect your dental health. While chewing gum your mouth produces saliva flow, reducing bad bacteria and cleaning your mouth. Therefore reducing the chance of cavities.

And let’s face it, do teachers and fellow students really want to smell someone’s bad breath? With all the benefits that chewing gum has, why not give chewing gum at NDA a chance?