As a student who has sat outside at lunch for the past three years, I do not enjoy having to bring my lunch plate back to the cafeteria every day. I have come to notice that many other students also do not like having to go back to the cafeteria every single day just to put their plate away. Students may not feel like walking to put their plates up, but most of them do because it is the rule and it is what we are expected to do. However, there are many students that leave their plates outside or just throw them in the garbage can. This is a big problem since it causes an inconvenience for teachers, cafeteria workers, students, and the school itself. Many teachers and cafeteria workers are having to pick up plates and silverware every day, even though that is not their job. This also causes some problems for the students because we are constantly being reprimanded and told not to leave our plates outside. Students throwing their plates away also causes problems for the school because they are constantly having to spend money on buying new plates. So, what can the school do to stop their students from leaving plates outside or throwing them away?

If the school wants their students to stop leaving their plates outside or throwing them away, they should set up a station outside where students can leave their plates after they are finished eating their lunch. Many students that sit outside would use this station, even if it is farther away from them because it is closer than the cafeteria and it is easier to get to. The most practical place to put the station is underneath the gazebo. The gazebo is a good spot since many students sit under the gazebo or around the gazebo during lunch time. If possible, the school could also set up another plate station underneath the PAC because there are also many students that sit under or around the PAC. These stations would just be one or two bins for students to leave their plates in. At the end of each lunch period, one or two cafeteria workers would go get the bins from outside and bring them back into the cafeteria. This might seem inconvenient for the cafeteria workers since they would have to get the bins, but it would actually help them since the plates would not be scattered outside, they would all be centralized. This may seem unnecessary considering the real problem is that students are just lazy, but it would stop students from leaving their plates outside or throwing them away.

These plate stations would help to improve many of the problems caused by students leaving their plates outside. These stations would be beneficial for the teachers because they would no longer have to pick up random plates that students have left outside. This would also be good for the cafeteria workers because they will no longer have to worry about missing plates. Many students would also be on board with setting up these stations because they would not have to walk all the way to the cafeteria to put their plates up. They would just have to walk to the gazebo or PAC. Students would also stop throwing their plates away because they would not have to walk all the way to the cafeteria to put their plates up. They would simply just have to walk to the gazebo or the PAC. These stations would also be beneficial for the school because they would stop wasting countless amounts of money each year for new plates and silverware. The administration should really consider putting these station into us since it will solve a big problem and make everyone’s life easier!