Since the school year began, students, faculty, and administration alike have had many questions and concerns pertaining to the new building. One of the biggest questions has been the lunch bell schedule and the length of time students are provided.  

Last Thursday, the Greeley West Student Council had a discussion with Principal Mr. Jeff Cranson and Assistant Principal Ms. Amanda Jones about this glaring issue.  

According to Student Council President Samirah Providence, the hope of the meeting was to, ““Establish a consensus on lunch issues, and to attempt to find a middle ground that satisfies both the students and the staff.” 

Jones said the administrators,“hope to listen to and understand students’ perspectives, as well as give our own perspective.” 

One of the first issues discussed was regarding underclassmen and off-campus privileges. Providence argued that, while it might not necessarily be fair, there has been less drama and chaos off-campus to to start the school year. However, she also said that the upperclassmen need to understand that they’re in a position of responsibility, and thus need to present themselves as respectable and responsible role models, so the underclassmen can see what enables the privilege. 

Some in the student council suggested an option for sophomores to be able to buy a blue badge on the new school app with points acquired for attending events and good grades.  

The recent issues at Generations Church were also discussed. Jones voiced that students should treat our neighbors with respect, as “Your actions reflect on the school’s reputation.” 

This goes for local restaurants, food joints, and King Soopers, too. The new parking lot won’t be complete until November, but until then administration requests that students not trash temporary parking lots. Admin also received issues of students and parents alike speeding on their way to Greeley West. Jones chalks this up to a lack of a crossing guards that morning, but asked that students and parents, drivers and pedestrians alike obey traffic laws to ensure a safe commute to school for everyone.

Anybody who’s had an A-lunch can attest to the fact that it gets crowded, and none in the room seemed as passionate about the problem as StuCo Treasurer Jeb Mathews, who had a plan to fix the issue. The issue, he claimed, is that too few upperclassmen are leaving for lunch as students cannot get food from local businesses and come back on time. His plan to resolve this is to take five minutes from each class to add on to lunch, which would give students an hour for lunch and give teachers ten more minutes of instruction time compared to last year. However, Cranson saw Mathews’ plan as a bit too radical, saying “No other school in Colorado has a lunch that long, and we’re already in the average of lunchtime in Weld County.” 

Cranson further argued that students need as much learning time as they can get, as 15% of students are proficient in math and 37% are proficient in English, according to SAT scores. Assistant Principal Mr.Aaron Allen boils this down to the time spent remote learning during COVID. 

None of that means the office is allergic to change…

“Call our bluff,” said Jones. “Show us that it’s a problem. Then we’ll have no choice but to change it.” 

In a nutshell, if the commons aren’t big enough, it’s up to the students to demonstrate how cramped they truly are. Cranson said it’s possible to extend lunch, but not easily. However, if push comes to shove, the office would be capable of making changes.