Many of the students attending George Ranch this year have been in an uproar concerning the new mixed lunch situation and how the mixed lunches have affected their lunch periods. For example, B and D lunch are split class periods, meaning that a student goes to class for thirty minutes, goes to lunch and returns to class for more instruction. Senior Vivian Nguyen who has B lunch during her math period, says, “It is unfair for math [tests because] you are not able to go back and check on your work [after you go to lunch].” She also says that she is “not able to bond with her grade” in a way that they were able to in year’s past. Cole Jackson, a sophomore, “[likes] D lunch because it has a lot of [his] friends,” but he “would rather have [lunches] like last year.”

The other lunches, A and C, are not split, but have problems of their own. “C lunch is crowded and it is hard to find seats with my friends,” says Noah Joe, sophomore. He says that “all tables are full” and he wishes that lunch “could be like last year”. Stef Ortiz, a senior, says that his A lunch is “a good time to [eat]” but he also “[doesn’t] like the mixed lunches”.

Various rumors have been circulating the school explaining the reasoning behind the principal’s decision to mix the midday meals. Dr. Black, the school’s Associate Principals,  laid some of those rumors to rest. The decision to mix the lunches “[had] nothing to do with how big the freshman class is”. He said that last years lunch situation “blocked out two [class] periods,” and that the new lunch line up helped “conflicting schedules” and allowed the students “[to] take classes they want”. Dr. Black believes the “[lunches] are absolutely” better than last year.

Students’ and teachers’ opinions over the big mix differ. While students seem to dislike the change, Dr. Black and presumably the other administrators feel that this new way of organizing lunch periods is much better. Ideally a compromise will be made to satisfy both sides of the issue at hand, either the AP’s will concede and revert to the old ways of organizing lunch periods (or maybe even a new way of organizing them) or the students will come to accept the new way of doing things.