Should Maine West have longer lunch periods? This is a question often raised when students are asked to give their opinions on school policy.

Many students think that lunch periods should be longer because the current ones are inadequate. The main reasons given are not enough time to eat and long lines which give a person at the end of the line only about five minutes time in which to eat. If we only lengthened our lunch periods by ten minutes, "Why, everything would be fine," say these people. But ten minutes would have to be multiplied by six, the number of lunch periods. School would be a full hour longer.

It is essential to remember that we will have nine periods next year which will also lengthen the school day. For many people our present lunch periods are long enough; and if their periods were lengthened, these people would have to find some way to use up the additional time. Usually time in a lunchroom is used mischievously; and longer periods could result in more detentions, ID. punches, and the like.

Since the present periods seem long enough for many people and since no one wants an even longer school day or more detentions, it is wise to leave the periods at their present length.