This school year Bishop Manogue implemented a new policy: no food can be purchased unless your Student ID is present.  As can be expected, this has faced quite a bit of backlash from students.  It brings about the question: are students just supposed to go hungry if they forget their ID at home?  The cafeteria should allow Manogue students to buy food with or without their ID.

Manogue is lucky in the fact that breakfast, lunch, and snacks are all catered for the school day by Roundabout Catering.  Students are able to enjoy a variety of snacks and meal options (from muffins to nutritious salads) at any point during the day.  In previous years the ID’s were encouraged, but not mandatory.  This year, if a student accidentally leaves their ID at home they are left hungry for the duration of the day.  Hunger negatively impacts academic performance, as it decreases focus and hinders concentration.  Students come to school to learn, not to spend the entire day listening to the sound of their stomach grumbling.

As winter approaches there is a lurking evil, flu season.  Flu rates have been very high in recent years, being easily spread though sharing food and drinks.  If a student is not able to purchase food due to lack of a student ID, they are likely to ask their peers for some of theirs.  Sharing food leads to the spread of illness at rapid rates.  We need to keep our students healthy and fed.

It is evident, allowing students to purchase food without student ID’s would be a beneficial change to the Manogue community.  Academic engagement would improve and the flu will not rapidly spread.