Underclassmen should be able to go off campus

Sophomore Andrew Weng slugs his backpack off as he approaches the cafeteria to wait 10 minutes for his lunch — cup noodle and hot pocket — for the fifth time this week.

He has his driver’s license, but because of the school’s longstanding policy prohibiting underclassmen from going off campus during lunch, he’s stuck with the bland taste of the food served in the cafeteria. He knows that if he walks to his car to go out to lunch, campus supervisor Jeanine Sevilla will be waiting for him with a Saturday school slip.

The school should change its policies to allow underclassmen to go off campus for lunch. Since many sophomores get their license during the school year, it makes no sense for the school to prohibit them from leaving campus.

Age, not grade, should be the only factor when deciding who gets to drive off campus. Why should a sophomore who is 16 and has his or her license have to wait all the way until junior year to drive off campus? That is illogical and unfair.

According to California state law, people under 18 are required to have their license for at least 12 months before they can drive passengers under the age of 20. Therefore, even sophomores without their licenses but should at least be allowed to be driven by someone who already has their required year.

In addition, underclassmen are tired of the repetitive and dull food the cafeteria serves. The cafeteria lacks variety, so allowing underclassmen to go off to places such as Chipotle or Five Guys would make lunches enjoyable and tasty.

Furthermore, nearby schools such as Lynbrook and Monta Vista allow underclassmen to go off campus as long as they go with someone who has had their year or have a license themselves. If underclassmen at nearby schools have this right, Saratoga underclassmen should also.

Some argue that by letting underclassmen go off campus during lunch, safety is compromised, since sophomores are inexperienced drivers and are more likely to get into an accident. But many juniors are also just in their first year of driving, and have the same amount of experience as many sophomore drivers. If juniors are allowed to drive off campus right after they get their license, then licensed sophomores should be given this privilege too.

Also, some may argue that a better solution to the poor food variety on campus would be to add more vendors. Yet, this option would be more costly for students because the cafeteria prices include transportation fees.

For example, the food stand in the quad sells Papa John’s pizza for $2.50 a slice. Online, a large Papa John’s pizza cost $15.24, or about $1.90 per slice. This is a $0.60 difference, or a 32 percent price increase per slice.

If underclassmen already have their license, there is no point in preventing them from driving off campus. Students are tired of bland cafeteria food, and it is unfair to trap them on campus.