Open-campus lunch is an ongoing debate at NDA. With lunches getting crowded and the school getting larger, could the solution be an open-campus lunch period?

“Open campus is for students who exhibit a high level of maturity and personal responsibility,” are words from the School District of New Berlin. The School District of New Berlin enacted open- campus lunch and study hall periods to “gradually release responsibility to students who will soon be making huge decisions about their career, finances and life.”

Some requirements are enforced for students to receive this privilege. They include: being a junior or senior, maintaining a grade point average higher than 3.0, parental approval and no more than three unexcused tardies in the semester.

Another local school, Southwest, allows students to leave during their lunch period. “An open campus allows for students to attend to personal/family needs and be rejuvenated by being outside,” said Southwest High School Principal Rodney Bohm.

“I like it because it gives me a break from the day where I can relax and not think about school,” explained Luke Pisani, a junior at Southwest.

Some benefits of open-campus lunch include a break in the day for students, another lunch option and extra “free” time for students.

While there are benefits to open-campus lunch, the one concern the administration has expressed is safety.

To keep kids and staff safe while exiting, Notre Dame could enforce a exiting and entering procedure like the School District of New Berlin did. This policy enforces the exit and entering options students have and includes signing out of the school to leave.  

“If we had open-campus lunch, I probably would not miss days of school because I would just use my lunch to go home and rest before the afternoon,” said Maggie Otradovec, a junior at Notre Dame.

As the enrollment at NDA continues to rise, a privilege that should be rewarded to good juniors and seniors is open-campus lunch.