Like at many other high schools in the area, Bethpage High School has an open campus, but only for seniors who are allowed to leave for lunch. At other schools, such as Mepham in North Bellmore, the campus is open to juniors and even sophomores. So I asked the juniors at Bethpage High School: would they like an open campus?

Before even asking them, it can be assumed that many would. They would enjoy having their senior friends drive them into town to get Pappardelle’s or McDonald’s, but some might not. They might not have any senior friends, and watching their peers go into town and return with delicious food might make them jealous. So now, let us ask the class of 2019.

Junior Brian Saccone of Bethpage High School thinks that the open campus should be based on the student’s age, not grade. “Once you turn 17 and get your driver’s license, you should be allowed off campus” he says. But this could be a problem for many students. Lots of students don’t turn 17 in their junior year, and if your friends are allowed out because they’re 17, but you still have a closed campus until October, that wouldn’t be fun.

Brian’s fellow junior Sam Pilarte thinks the campus should be open for exclusively seniors as a “senior privilege.” This is a common argument: open campus is part of the “senior experience” at Bethpage.

Over at Mepham in Bellmore, junior Erica Derosa loves their open campus. “Anybody in grades 10-12 can go out, and it’s not just for lunch; you can go out any free period you have. Everybody goes out, and everybody loves it,” she says. She and fellow junior Alex Dooley go out frequently, and love their open campus.“I use it all the time,” says Alex. “I’m actually in the car right now going out.”

So two completely different opinions from both schools. Some students at Bethpage think the campus should be open just for seniors and would never change our tradition, whereas students at Mepham love their freedom and would not trade their open campus for anything. So the question remains – Should the campus be open for juniors? I tend to agree with the those students at Bethpage that think an open campus should be reserved for seniors as a sort of reward for all their hard work. But you may not. Leave your opinion and below and I might have to write a revised version of this.