Imagine one day you’re sitting in class, paying attention, and taking notes, when all of a sudden your stomach wants to make an appearance and starts to growl, warning you that it’s hungry and you need to eat something so you grab money out of your backpack because you realize you left your snacks at home due to you running late and forgetting. So, you leave class to go grab a snack from the vending machine, only to realize that when you get there, the vending machines are locked and closed. Therefore, you have no other choice but to head back to class with an empty stomach and hope your stomach stops grumbling. And having to sit there, embarrassed, unable to focus anymore, looking at the clock over and over again, just wanting to leave the class already. You’re just sitting there thinking How come the vending machines cannot be open during school hours That’s why I’m here to try and change that. Vending machines should be open during school hours, so I approached the school staff and asked them some questions to gather their opinions.
1. Why can’t the vending machines be open during school hours?
Mr. Domingos: “The law says foods and soda cannot be sold during the school day, and there was a decision made that students were getting up, going to the vending machines, telling their teachers they had to go use the bathroom. Vending machines were an option for students, providing a choice beyond just lunch. It was an option.”
2. How will this affect you?
Mr. Rust: “It wouldn’t, I think vending machines should be open during school hours.”
Mr. Lopez: “It will affect me in how kids will always be in the hallway and not in class.”
Mr. Domingos: “It would not just impact me, it would impact learning; learning is an essential thing in this school.”
3. Do vending machines encourage responsibility, or do they just cause distractions?
Mr. Rust: “I have a completely different answer, vending machines and hunger are tied into the amygdala and a cortisol dump (a cortisol hijack).”
Mr. Lopez: “I believe it will cause distractions.”
Mr. Domingos: “We only get so many minutes of learning during the day, distractions such as vending machines, cellphones, we have to minimize or take them away to make sure learning is the priority. The reason we minimized them is that it was becoming a distraction for students, as they were walking around the hallways and stopping at vending machines.”
4. In what ways would this help students, teachers, and staff?
Mr. Rust: “Understanding amygdala hijack and the body’s responses”
Mr. Lopez: “Maybe keeping kids controlled.”
Mr. Domingos: “I don’t think it would, it would just take away from learning.”
At the end of the day, I understand the concerns, potential distractions, and legal restrictions associated with vending machines. However, it’s essential to recognize that not every student misuses this privilege. We genuinely need a snack to stay focused, especially if we have a later lunch period. Extending the availability of the vending machine by even a little bit can make a big difference in their day, and even I, who have a second lunch, am hungry again by the 6th period. Teachers can handle the few students who might try to misuse any machines by keeping an eye on bathroom breaks. However, the truth is that most students would use them correctly. We shouldn’t let a small group of kids ruin it for everyone else. If any machines were open longer, it could really help students stay full, focused, and ready to learn. Another thing is that, even with vending machines open or not, students will still be wandering the halls, regardless. Closing the vending machines and losing our privileges to have them open won’t make a difference in kids wandering in the halls and leaving class. I just think it’s unfair to have them open after school when the whole point of them is for kids to go and grab a little snack when they are hungry during school hours and if I’m really honest their not even open during lunch either we just need to understand that kids get hungry and need something to calm their hunger down for them to be able to focus in class and have a full stomach through out the day.
