Last year, Edina High School introduced Collaborative Wednesdays, a longer lunch period lasting about 120 minutes, giving students and teachers a breather, and extra time each week to accomplish more than could be done on any other given day.

In a survey conducted by Zephyrus, 96% of students stated that they were able to use their time well, and 100% of students in the survey said that Collaborative time should be continued. Collaborative Wednesdays have been a huge success, and has remained popular among the student body. One perk that accompanies Collaborative time is seniors having the choice to leave campus, and return when class resumes. Although students are appreciative of the extra time, one desire still remains: sophomores and juniors should be allowed to leave as well.

“[Collaborative] time is good, in it of itself, but if I was able to get in my car, and go grab something to eat, or go home to get something I might have forgotten, or maybe go practice my instrument… that would just make [Collaborative] time more enjoyable,” said EHS junior Beryl Bils.

Many others agree. “I believe [underclassmen] should be able to leave for Collaborative time…because I think it is unfair that only the seniors get to leave, even though they are seniors and the oldest, I believe that we have the right to leave too,” said EHS sophomore Jack Ebner.

Many underclassmen wonder why they are not be able to leave when high schools all over the country have open campus policies for all students. “I’m not sure why we can’t leave, maybe they don’t want us getting back to class late, and they want us to really use this time wisely, and not to just leave and do nothing,” said EHS junior Sterling Wagner.

Administration certainly has reasons for not allowing underclassmen to leave such as lack of transportation, not using time wisely, resources provided not being used, among other things. However, the fact that underclassmen must stay when upperclassmen are able to come and go as they please has left sophomores and juniors feeling as if administrators do not trust us as students. “I think the school won’t let us leave because they don’t trust us, and maybe they think that we’ll just ditch or something,” said EHS sophomore Tori Hagle.

“Most underclassmen can drive, at least juniors, so I think if we can drive, or get a ride with friends then we might as well be able to leave,” said Wagner.

Despite the administration’s choice to not let underclassmen leave, students have assured that time off campus would be used effectively. “If I could leave for Collaborative time, I would probably go to a friends house, make some food there, get some extra group work done, and I feel like it would be beneficial for my academics if I was able to do so,” said EHS junior Thomas Smith.

Students have an understanding that Collaborative time is a privilege, and should be treated as such. We understand what is expected of us as students, and we believe we should be given the same privilege as seniors to have an open campus for Collaborative time.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in this article are those of the writer, and not Zephyrus as a whole.