Some high schools allow freshmen to leave during lunch, but should Hart do this as well? The quick answer is no. Freshmen are fresh from middle school, they can’t be trusted off-campus. While I know that there are freshmen who are responsible enough to be trusted, there are too many risks to allow them off-campus permission.

Some freshmen still need to mature and grow. They would leave during lunch and not return as a way of being “cool and funny,” when in reality, they’re just causing problems for their teachers and the staff. 

While, yes, being able to leave campus could help them relax with the stress of school, the risks outweigh the benefits of allowing freshmen off-campus privileges during lunch. If freshmen stay on campus, it encourages them to join clubs and become familiar with the campus.

Freshmen are simply too young, around 14, and can’t be trusted to return before lunch ends. Leaving campus is earned, which is why juniors and seniors are allowed to leave, as they have been high schoolers long enough to manage their time and understand their responsibilities. However, if enough classes are missed, they lose that permission to leave. Unlike juniors and seniors, freshmen can’t prove that they deserve to leave, as it is their first year of high school, and don’t know how to manage their time.