Picture this: a lunch line that wraps around the walls of the cafeteria, a thin layer of freshly discarded wrappers on the floor, a questionably uncrowded parking lot because the students are battling the lunch rush at Chick-Fil-A, and maybe a handful of students in the media center with open textbooks and looseleaf paper. Sound like a jungle?

This is how I envision the implication of “Patriot Pause” at Bob Jones.

What is “Patriot Pause,” you ask?

It is the proposal of a lunch period that uses an hour of the school day and combines each lunch period into one, meaning that every student will be released from class at the same time and will be trusted with a full hour of sporadically supervised freedom. During the time that is not spent purchasing and eating their meals (if there are any left), students are meant to attend club meetings, participate in tutoring, or spend a few minutes catching up on homework.

Why does this seem like such a bad idea, you ask?

I try to see it from the viewpoint of nonstudents. Lunch staff, for one, could potentially become overwhelmed with the multitude of people inside of the cafeteria at one time. Janitors, for another, will undoubtedly be expected to clean up all of the trash and stray food that is carelessly left behind by the entire student body as opposed to waves of it.

Another concern lies within the sense of responsibility entrusted with each student during this time to stay on campus and use the time wisely. Alas, it is a popular wish among teenagers to leave said campus and purchase “better” food. While I would like to believe that every student would follow the guidelines and remain on school grounds, my skepticism tells me that somebody will drive to Subway and ruin the trust factor of the Bob Jones student-faculty community.

Surely all of these things have been considered, you say.

I do not doubt that in the least bit. In fact, James Clemens High School, another Madison City high school, adopted a similar format at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year. James Clemens senior Maceo Booker said, “It gives us a nice break from class.” Fellow senior Brookes Mattingly commented on the chaos- or lack thereof- within the lunch lines, saying that the rushes were “scattered” and therefore more manageable. Even Bob Jones students support the idea; in a Survey Monkey poll distributed to various classes determine the general attitude concerning “Patriot Pause,” about sixty-six percent of students voted in favor of it.

While I still have reservations on the matter of “Patriot Pause,” the community seems to embrace it. Perhaps a modified version of the Jet’s Refuel Hour could, indeed, benefit the Bob Jones student body.