As students have returned from virtual learning and come back to school, DeMatha’s administration has put in many new policies as a result of the increased number of students on campus. One of those new policies relates to students and their cars.

For this school year, DeMatha’s administration has instituted a policy that seniors and others with cars are not allowed to eat lunch in their vehicles or sit in their cars during the day.

Some students have wondered if this policy was instituted in order to curb bad behavior, as it is very reasonable to assume that bad behavior could decrease if seniors aren’t allowed to sit in their cars together. Others have mentioned that the policy could have been put in place to reduce the likelihood of a Covid-19 outbreak, as it would limit the amount of time kids spend together indoors without masks.

Senior Luke Kelly thinks that the new policy by the Dean’s Office has helped faculty keep an eye on students while the students are out at lunch. “I think that the policy has worked well at reducing bad behavior, which seems to be the biggest intention of the new rule,” Luke says.

Luke added, “I don’t know if the policy would really help with reducing Covid-19 cases, as kids are still in close contact without masks outside of school or with their sports teams. In my opinion, I don’t think the rule was made with Covid in mind.”

Overall, Luke is satisfied with the new rule because “students can still eat outside in their trunks, so it’s not like we are forced to eat in the cafeteria.” Luke acknowledged that he himself would probably not eat in his car anyway. “I know that sometimes it can be too cold to eat outside in your trunk, but the inside of my car does not have a lot of space, so even if given the option to eat in my car I would still probably just eat inside if it was a cold day.”

Senior Chris O’Connor is less accepting of the school’s new car policy. Chris said, “I understand the logic behind preventing the spread of Covid-19, but it seems like this new policy would not do much to actually stop the spread.”

Chris noted how everyone eating in the cafeteria is tightly compact whether they are waiting in line to receive lunch or seated at a table eating with their friends. “I think that if the new car policy is Covid-19 related, then it would be contradictory for the school to allow students to eat close together inside but not allow them to eat together from similar distances in their cars.”

Chris pointed out that the senior class is responsible and has done a good job of setting an example for younger students. He feels that this good behavior proves that seniors would properly handle eating lunch in their cars without any problems. Chris said, “I understand that the administration has had issues in the past with bad behavior from students in their cars, but I feel like our senior class has enough leaders and men of high character that bad behavior would not be an issue.”

Alex Krukar, DeMatha alum and member of the class of 2019, was surprised at the rule change regarding students not being allowed to sit in their cars. “Some of the best memories I have from my senior year were from eating lunch in my car with my friends,” Alex said.

Although he has fond memories from his senior year, Alex also recalls several instances of bad behavior occurring inside cars of DeMatha students. “I understand the rationale behind the rule, but I’m not certain that the rule would actually stop bad behavior in cars from happening.”

Alex knows that many things have changed since his time at DeMatha several years ago. Many teachers have come and gone, and there is a new dean of students at the school. But he is still surprised that there is a rule that does not allow students to eat lunch in their vehicles.

“I am a big proponent of senior privileges at any school, and I think in this case seniors deserve the privilege of being able to sit and eat their lunch in their own car should they choose.”

Although DeMatha’s administration believes that this new policy will ultimately help reduce bad behavior, it seems that both current and former students think that upperclassmen have earned the right to be trusted to make good decisions on their own.

As the weather has gotten colder heading into winter break, more students have been reprimanded for sitting in their vehicles when they aren’t supposed to. This means that the issue of students not being allowed to sit in their cars during the day will only become more controversial and more deeply discussed.

All these different factors make it interesting to see if the school’s administration will stick with the current policy or change gears for the future.