SLAS Times Q2 2019-2020 SLAS Times: Fall 2019 | Page 18

Students Want Vending Machines on Campus
by Nikita Kirzyk
cause. The student council is unable to do anything
unless it is approved by administration, and some of
the members are already unsure if this idea is feasi-
ble at all.
The parents of high school kids support the idea of
having a vending machine. Parents of younger chil-
dren are concerned about children’s health and don’t
want them to have any access to soda.
There’s also a controversy among teachers, since
some believe that a vending machine is just un-
necessary. US history teacher, Chris Stewart, said, “I
think that it is, more than anything, a nice-sounding
campaign promise that, like virtually every campaign
promise, is probably undeliverable. It requires con-
stant maintenance and restocking, can pose a dan-
ger if tipped over, and is pretty much superfluous
since we have the kiosk so often.”
Despite some of the opinions mentioned above,
the school principal, Faustina Martinez agrees with
students, “I do support personally, the addition of a
vending machine in school, since such an addition
would allow students to access any drinks they want
without leaving the campus.” She also says that it
or years, students at SLAS have been demanding is possible to install a vending machine on campus
an on-campus beverage vending machine. Al- and that there are plenty of companies willing to do
most every presidential candidate to student council so “…It’s a big business, especially with the numbers
would promise it, but the promises were never ful- of students and staff we have in this school.”
filled, and the issue still remains open today.
F
The reason why the school still doesn’t have a vend-
In a recent questionnaire 20 out of 20 students sup- ing machine is due to several disagreements. The
ported having a vending machine at school.
school does not know if it should go on the first floor
or on the second, and the school would also need
One of the respondents, an 11th grade student people to monitor the machine to make sure that el-
James Fang said, “I can choose what I actually want ementary students do not use it.
to drink. Furthermore, it is more convenient to just
have a vending machine at school than to go outside The issue with the vending machine is possible to re-
of campus and buy drinks.”
solve, but a compromise needs to be found between
parents, and students. Most students, however, have
The Student Council members also support this de- already lost faith in a vending machine coming any-
cision, though the school’s president Ken Higashi- time soon.
yama is concerned about plastic emissions it might