Falling asleep during the second period of the day is a common experience. I’m sure of it. Everytime I look around in class, there are at least three people with their eyes closed and their heads down. What is the solution to this you might ask? A hot, fresh cup of coffee served in our very own cafeteria.
Conveniently, the cafeteria does sell hot, fresh coffee; but unfortunately, it’s only for teachers.
Section 10-215b-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies prohibits selling and giving coffee, tea, and soft drinks to students from 30 minutes before up through 30 minutes after the operation of the cafeteria.
Although this is the law, I believe it is ridiculous; students are the ones who are getting assigned four or more hours of homework on top of a full school day and extracurriculars, personally, I don’t get to bed until around 1:00 a.m., so a cup of coffee would really help me stay awake and be able to function throughout my busy schedule.
I then wake up at 6:30 a.m. every morning, so I have time to get dressed, get to school and complete the 15 minute walk from Wakemen to Staples so I can get to school exactly at 8:00 a.m. And no, I don’t have time to make myself a cup of coffee.
I am not complaining. I accepted this lifestyle when I signed up for my classes and decided to do time-consuming extracurriculars; however, all I am asking for is a little extra boost in the morning to get through each treacherous day.
I understand that it is often not ideal to drink caffeine, especially as a young adult, but the workload teachers are giving us is also not “ideal.” I am certainly not supporting caffeine addictions. However, for some mornings when students get less than five hours of sleep, a little caffeine could certainly help them keep your eyes open.
According to Andi Atkinson, a UT health Physician, older teens can healthily consume slightly more than 100 milligrams of caffeine depending on their height and weight. High schoolers are all above the age where they are responsible enough to control what they put in their bodies. If someone knows they don’t function well with caffeine in their system, then they just won’t get it; simple as that.
And if school just provided coffee to students, then we wouldn’t feel the need to violate school policy and leave campus to get it from places like Starbucks. Either way students are going to find a way to get caffeine, so it might as well be regulated by the school.
As such, Connecticut State Agencies should seriously consider changing the law to improve students’ well-being and energy levels in a classroom setting. I think coffee provided by the school would drastically improve the mood in a classroom. There will be no more half asleep students with their heads down and teachers will finally be able to teach a class with students who are awake and engaged.
