“We were promised normal, but this is far from it.” 

Senior Sahar Arain sighed in disappointment after hearing the news coming from the TV speakers:

Senior off-campus lunch is canceled.

Arain could not believe what she was hearing. Something she had been eagerly waiting for ever since her freshman year was gone, with the uncertainty of it ever coming back. 

On the first day of the school year, Assistant Principal  Sarah Tones announced that off-campus lunch for seniors would be prohibited on a district-wide level until further notice. 

“I’m still not sure what the justification is from the district, but I was excited this year because we would always have upperclassmen go out and eat lunch,” senior Hannah Ghebrelul exclaimed. “I am very disappointed.” 

Seniors interviewed feel as if the district policy does not have any effect on slowing the spread of Covid-19 cases, which is believed to be the reason behind the district’s decision.

“I don’t understand why the district is implementing this rule when students move around the Alief community on a daily basis, even during school hours,” senior Joshua Romero said. “Even teachers leave the campus and come back after, so it seems illogical to place restrictions only towards us seniors.”

In addition to the risk of contracting Covid-19, principal Vinson Lewis mentioned another reason behind the off-campus lunch ban.

“It was becoming extremely difficult to police who was or wasn’t a senior,” Lewis said. “Other students would travel off-campus and get into situations they were not supposed to be in, so they removed it for the entire district.”

To the relief of many, the option to order food from delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and DoorDash became widely available for the entire Kerr student population. However, some seniors do not think this perk makes up for the privilege they have lost.

“I think being able to order food compensates for a year of Covid for the underclassmen,” senior Christian Aguilar said. “When it comes to us seniors, I believe we have gone through enough to deserve some sort of privilege that makes us stand out. 

“Something that we alone can enjoy.”