Seventh graders Amaya Anguiano, Vivian Bair, Lola Taylor and Jada Grey enjoy lunch in the middle school quad.
The middle school administration has banned the use of food delivery services such as Postmates, Doordash and Uber Eats, due to safety concerns.
“It’s a matter of safety; it’s not anything against the apps,” head of middle school, Sandy Lyon said. “How do we know (the drivers) are safe people?”
Safety is a particular concern in light of recent events of violence on school campuses in the U.S., according to Lyon.
Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats all conduct criminal and driving checks, but concerns remain.
“It just does not make sense to have people that we don’t know wandering around the campus,” Lyon said.
Although the popular food delivery services are now banned for middle school students, the high school policy remains under consideration.
Head of high school Brooke Wells has asked student council members to come up with a proposal.
According to Lyon, since high schoolers are older and have more mature judgment than middle schoolers, they should be given more freedom.
“I don’t think sixth grade is the time to be giving them that freedom,” Lyon explained. “You are talking about an 11-year-old being able to order anything they want and having someone (come) on campus (to deliver) it.”
According to former SCDS students freshmen Catherine Mealoy and Jacob No, St. Francis High School and Jesuit High School have also banned food delivery services during school hours.
Eighth grader Jordan Lindsay said she rarely used Postmates, but does not think that it is a safety issue.
“(Kids) have been ordering from Postmates all the time and (nothing bad has happened).” Lindsay said.
Lindsay also noted how useful Postmates was for middle schoolers who didn’t have lunch.
“(Postmates) was how (some) kids got their food and now they can’t do that anymore,” Lindsay said.
Many middle schoolers, including eighth grader Naymel Munir and seventh grader Chance Swinmurn, said they didn’t use food delivery services so had no opinion on the new rule.
—By Kristine Schmitz
