Teens line up for lunch as campuses are closed

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2002 | 11:09 a.m.

Las Vegas High School senior Peter White shook his head as he surveyed the long lines at his campus cafeteria Monday, the first day of school and the first time students were no longer allowed to leave during the day.

"What are we supposed to do, stand here like cattle?" White asked, as his schoolmates jostled their way to food carts set up in the courtyard selling pizza, salads and sandwiches. "This is ridiculous."

Last year, nine high schools in the Clark County School District allowed students to leave campus for lunch. Beginning this year, only students at the Clark County School District's rural high school campuses in Indian Springs, Laughlin and Moapa Valley will be allowed to leave during lunch periods. At the remaining 26 schools, high school students will have to use the cafeteria, student store or vending machines, or bring lunch from home.

The decision to close the urban high school campuses had been in the works, but the process was speeded up after the deaths of two Las Vegas High School students in a lunchtime car wreck this past May.

Natasha Keeter, 17, died instantly when 16-year-old Ashley Troester lost control of her Ford Thunderbird. Troester, who was driving without a license, later died of her injuries and three other students in the car were seriously injured.

Police say the students were hurrying back to school before the end of the lunch period.

Terri Slayton, whose son started ninth grade at Las Vegas High School Monday, applauded the switch to a closed campus.

"There's no reason for these kids to be out on the streets during the day," Slayton said. "No good reason at all."

Response to the closures has been largely positive, at least from parents, said Edward Goldman, superintendent of the district's southeast region.

The one exception was Boulder City High School, Goldman said. Boulder City was expected to remain an open campus this fall because the school has no cafeteria, Goldman said. But when the city police raised concerns about student safety, the decision was made to close the campus, Goldman said.

For district officials, it was a busy summer planning how to feed thousands of additional students who would have otherwise gone off campus during their 30-minute meal break. Additional cafeteria workers were added to each campus, along with mobile food carts and patio tables and chairs.

No campuses ran out of food Monday, said Sue Hoggan, spokeswoman for food services in the district's southeast region.

"For a first day, things went surprisingly smooth," Hoggan said. "It may have looked like chaos, but it was organized chaos."

For Las Vegas High School senior Vanessa DeHoyos, the closed campus means she won't be able to dash down the block to her favorite lunch spot -- her family's kitchen.

DeHoyos said the ban goes too far.

"Students should at least be allowed to walk somewhere, even if they don't want us to drive," DeHoyos said. "There should be a permission slip parents can sign saying we can come home for lunch if we want."

Surveying the long lines at the food carts in the courtyard, Las Vegas High School senior Stephen Plaskon said closing the campus will cause more problems than it will solve.

"By the time you get through the line, there's no time to eat," Plaskon said. "We're all jammed in here; there's no way to get away from school for a few minutes."

Las Vegas High School Principal Patrice Johnson hopes the opening of a "seniors only" quad -- complete with its own food carts -- will alleviate some of the griping. The school is also awaiting delivery of patio umbrellas and additional seats for the courtyard, Johnson said.

Nikki Mott, also a senior, said she was initially disappointed by the news of the closed campus. But sitting at a cafeteria table with a group of friends, she admitted there were some benefits to buying a $3 chef's salad over making a run to Jack in the Box.

"This is probably healthier," Mott said. "I'd rather be able to leave, but I guess we'll have to deal with it."