At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Silver Creek High School started enforcing a rule that prohibits students from eating in their cars during lunch mandating students that they either have to eat inside of the school, or off the school’s campus. However, students at Silver Creek dislike and don’t understand this rule, and continue to eat in their cars.

Many students who drive to school, or have friends who drive to school, enjoy eating lunch in their cars instead of the school’s cafeteria. Many students say that the cafeteria is overcrowded and simply feel more comfortable in their cars

“The cafeteria is always super crowded and loud,” Alex Dobson, a junior at Silver Creek says.

With the school having limited areas to sit between the cafeteria and the A-wing, as well as outside, but only when it’s warm, many students end up eating on the floor, which isn’t very comfortable, or clean. This leaves students to find other places to sit, and with the library and seating outside of the F wing off-limits, the next best spot is in their cars.

“I’d rather eat lunch in a car than on the ground of the school’s cafeteria,” Dobson explains. “But I also don’t want to eat off of campus because I want to be able to walk inside and go to class once I’m done with lunch.”

But, there is a reason for students not being allowed to eat in their cars.

“It’s district policy,” said Mary Aragon-Vigil, a campus supervisor at Silver Creek. “Students do things in their car, so they can no longer eat in their car on campus,” Aragon-Vigil says she has limited details about this rule since it’s a district policy instead of a school policy.

This rule also isn’t new. “This has always been the rule, but now that I have another person working with me, I can go out in the parking lot to tell students,” Aragon-Vigil explains.

Before the 2022-2023 school year, Aragon-Vigil was working mostly alone, until Christopher Warner came to also work as a campus supervisor. Warner started working at the school, alongside Aragon-Vigil during the spring semester. This allowed Aragon-Vigil to start enforcing this rule more effectively than when she was alone.

With students disliking this rule, they continue to still eat in their cars. However, students and teachers could find a middle ground that would benefit them both. With more areas and seating added for students to sit during lunch, some students will be more inclined to eat inside of the school instead of in their cars.

Although students dislike the idea of not being able to eat in their cars, they will have to get used to the newly enforced rule as it is not a school policy, but the district’s policy.