Leaving campus for lunch break has long been popular among upperclassmen, however, it has always been against school rules. The school administration has been taking steps to stop students from doing leaving for lunch. 

“[Students] should be allowed to leave for lunch, there shouldn’t be security prohibiting us from going out to get food. [Security] should at least let the seniors out for lunch,” says a senior student. This opinion seems to be popular among many upperclassmen students, however, security isn’t having it. 

 Just “not liking the busyness of the cafeteria” isn’t an excuse to the rules. There are many places to eat here at school. The most popular? The main cafeteria, where thousands of students flock to eat. However, some students might not like the crowded, chaotic cafeteria. They may prefer to be a little risky and try and make it out of the school.

“There are certain privileges to upperclassmen, such as the Senior Lounge and the patio by the practice field. So there is that flexibility for students to decide where to eat,” says Laura Moore, the Sub-School Principal for students with last names A-Ca.

“Sometimes [administration] will get students who will make it out and go to Chipotle and come back,” Moore says, touching on another reason a student might choose to leave campus for lunch. “We really don’t want that to happen because we want to make sure that everyone is safe and sound. We take something called ‘loco parentis’ very seriously because we want to ensure that your parents know that you are with us and not anywhere else.”

Loco parentis comes from a Latin phrase which means, “in the place of a parent”. This refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent, something the administrators want to try their best to mimic.

 West Potomac’s security has a full schedule as well. They are on their feet for most of the day making sure that all students get to class on time and that the students are safe from any threats that the school may face during the day. Security also works on stopping students from straying off campus to eat.

“Security, if ever, I [rarely] see them in their office. Every security guard has a designated spot and are making sure students have passes to leave and making sure people who aren’t supposed to be on our campus stay off of it. Every guard rotates around to relieve the previous guard,”  Moore says.