“I’m sure that 99% of the people delivering food are really just delivering food, but what if on that one day, it’s not?” Administrative Vice-Principal Amy Hanson said.
As the school day drags on, the allure of juicy burgers, crispy fries, and tender nuggets is hard to resist. Instead of settling for soggy pizza or lukewarm pasta, many turn to DoorDash or other food delivery services for their favorite comfort foods.
Sophomore Ava Glass relies on food delivery almost daily. “I hate packing lunches in the morning because they taste gross by lunchtime,” she said. Many students share this frustration, as home-packed lunches lose their charm when they become stale and cold.
Glass uses the writing tool on the DoorDash app to draw out a clear route for her driver to ensure a seamless delivery. “I understand how deliveries could cause problems, but I don’t think they do. I think students just have to be smart about it,” she said.
Glass believes that with an organized setup, deliveries could run smoothly. “We should have a designated spot for drop-off orders so that we can eliminate the problem of having strangers on campus and allow it for students,” she said.
Similarly, sophomore Alex Messerlian doesn’t have time to hand-pack a lunch in the morning and isn’t inclined to try school lunch. He opts for the convenience of a quick delivery. “I tell DoorDash to drop it off at the semi-circle at the front of the school. It’s a really simple process,” he said.
The appeal of tasty fast food adds an extra incentive for members to attend Messerlian’s Community Closet Club, where snacks rotate every meeting. “If they could allow DoorDash but improve the system by having someone monitor deliveries, it would be beneficial,” Messerlian said.
“We just don’t want strangers walking around on campus,” Hanson said. “Anytime anyone wants to come into a school—not just at M-A—they need to check in at the front office.”
The policy aims to prevent strangers from entering the campus, reduce potential safety risks, and avoid disruptions to the learning environment. “You’d be surprised how often I see dashers walking around school asking for directions to a certain class,” Hanson said.
English teacher Jason Hunt occasionally chooses his favorite Togo sandwiches and Curry Pizza House pizzas to diversify his lunch and enjoy something more satisfying than his classic salad. However, he has noticed a security problem with the current dropoff system. “I’ve had my food and sandwiches stolen before, and there have been a few times when they have gone missing from the office,” he said.
Hunt doesn’t penalize students for breaking the school’s food delivery rule as long as they respect his time in class. “It’s one of those things where I just don’t ask. As long as they’re not doing it during class time and leaving to pick up food, I don’t really care where their food comes from,” he said.
“Until the school actually cracks down on the policy, I’m not going to go out of my way to enforce a policy that’s not being enforced school-wide,” Hunt added. Before permitting student deliveries, he thinks having an open campus during lunchtime would make more sense.
Some students misuse bathroom passes to pick up their DoorDash orders secretly. This has raised concerns among teachers that students are missing valuable class time and taking a privilege away from others. “I don’t like when students leave for 20 minutes and return with food. They take the bathroom pass for someone who legitimately needs it, and they miss out on work,” ceramics teacher Michael Burton-Tillson said.
Burton-Tillson has observed that the food exchange process between students and drivers often leads to confusion about where to exit. He thinks that this may present a possible security threat. “I saw a driver walking down the B-Wing when he’d already done his job. So I was thinking: who’s this random guy wandering around?” he said.
“At the end of the day, food is food. They shouldn’t limit ways students can obtain their meal,” Messerlian said.
