By Angelina Li, Natalie Pan, and Jessica Wei

Tired of skipping lunch to build robots or debate ethics? Have your friends asked why they never see you in the cafeteria anymore? If these scenarios resonate with you, you are probably one of the many Winsor students who suffer from clubs-meet-at-lunch-itis. The new six-day schedule has brought about many changes to student life, but the disappearance of a permanent clubs block has been the most detrimental. Clubs block was retired after the 2019-2020 school year, perhaps another change brought by the COVID pandemic. Now, the solution is simple: Bring it back!

Proponents of the clubs block firmly believe that, in an already busy school schedule, lunch should be our time to take a breath. Jenna Phinney ’23 said, “Meeting during lunch makes an already jam-packed schedule even tighter.” She suggested that “designating a block for the clubs… allows for more structure and quality time spent between the club members.” Meg Madison ’24 agreed that “lunch is already short as it is and one of the few times we get to relax and talk to our friends at school. [Hosting] clubs during lunch prevents some people from participating in clubs because they don’t want to lose that time.” Adding on, Emily Hou ’22 remarked, “With how long the lunch line has become, club time has become incredibly short and a hassle. It’s difficult to spend time with friends in general due to COVID. Lunch has become a bonding time for us all, but clubs during lunch takes that away from us.” In general, students who are in favor of a clubs block want to reserve lunch for bonding and advocate for a more structured, designated space for club meetings.

However, some people prefer having clubs meet at lunch. Nicole Hwang ’23 believes that having clubs meet at lunch makes them more accessible to students “because it’s easy to get your food and then walk down the hall [to the room].” She has also noticed that “eating during club meetings makes them more chill,” while implementing a clubs block might make meetings “feel like a class… which makes it less fun.” Allison Chan ’23 agrees and claims that “there’s also more of an incentive to attend clubs if you’re at lunch rather than at a free [period] because lunch is always a time used for socialization while you might rather do homework than attend a club meeting if you’re at a free [period].” Students who are against implementing a separate clubs block seem to be the most concerned about losing the casual dynamic of lunch discussions and taking away time from other commitments. 

Though the argument for clubs being held during lunch is quite understandable, there are some clear advantages to having a special clubs block implemented into Winsor students’ schedules. With the short amount of time allotted for lunch, club members are likely to be distracted by the plates of food in front of them. A calmer environment in the form of a separate clubs block is the key to ensuring that all clubs can run smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, since many clubs would be running at the same time, it is unlikely that students will find themselves missing out on conversations with friends in the cafeteria. Also, it is easier for both the kitchen and cleaning staff to not have food in classrooms. Let’s bring back clubs block!