Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, Culver City High School’s lunch was shortened by five minutes. Most grades are not impacted by this change, but many seniors, who are now finally able to leave campus during lunch, are unhappy. While some remain unbothered, many seniors are annoyed with the new schedule, as they have little time to spare if they choose to eat off-campus.
Senior Maren Carr-Rollitt said she has to run from her 4th period class to the student parking lot gate and order food ahead of time to even have a chance of making it back on time to her 5th period class. Carr-Rollitt thinks five minutes make a big difference because seniors have to eat quickly and then rush back from a place nearby to get to class on time. An anonymous senior agreed, saying, “It’s hard to enjoy the full lunch. Why couldn’t they give us five more minutes? If we are going to get food, it’s a rush to get back and not be tardy for 5th period.”
Senior Lisa Kinsley said the additional five minutes would make a difference because she often ends up being two minutes late to class, a problem that could be solved with five more minutes. She mentioned it is annoying to have complaints dismissed because technically, leaving campus is a privilege.
Although many are bummed about lunch being shorter, some seniors are not concerned. An anonymous senior said she doesn’t care because she does not leave campus for lunch, as she considers it a waste of time and money. She said the timing was always hard to make, so the five minutes taken away from lunch time don’t make it much harder in her experience. Senior Miles Katz-Facher, who leaves campus for lunch, also thinks five minutes don’t make much of a difference. “If your time is well managed and you eat at a place nearby, then making it back isn’t too hard.”
However, a longer lunch does give students more time to relax in between classes, as well as a wider range of locations to eat at. One anonymous senior mentioned that it would be nice to be able to spend time with friends and enjoy being in school aside from classes.
