Respect Yourself and Others; Stop Cutting In Line

Recently I started buying again from the cafeteria every so often when I have some money on hand. Typically, I reserve myself to after-school purchases. However, a few times I have to buy during lunch when I don’t bring food from home. That’s when, even if I run from the high school building to the cafeteria as soon as I am dismissed from class, I am faced with a problem that, although it has always existed, appears to have gotten worse.

A 20-Minute Struggle

When I arrive, there are typically already 4 to 5 people in line. That isn’t a problem: In an ideal world, I can wait five to ten minutes to receive my food and be out. But then the wave comes. Hoards of high school students arrive and begin cutting into the line always towards the glass cover where the food is served. Now I have to face the choice to either stick to my morals and wait for upwards of 20 minutes or throw them all in a trash can and cut into the line as well.

A Decision to Make

As a senior, I do feel that young students could afford me more respect and leniency. That said, however, I do not feel it is appropriate to use my status as an upperclassman to cut the line. I remember one of the first days of school this year when a bunch of my peers barged into the cafeteria citing “senior privilege” to be attended first in line. The majority, of course, were promptly kicked out. Regardless, I still have to make the choice I cited previously. Do I stick by my morals or try to cut in line when others are doing it?

I could join the hoard and cut into line or stay where I am and not be attended until 20 minutes later. I am someone who says their principles stand above all. I may not be able to uphold them always, but I try to stick to them. So, I try to wait it out. After all, patience is a virtue that rewards...eventually. Not to mention that if I tried to cut, (like sometimes I’ve done just to see what was being served, and then promptly leave) I would be immediately called out. I may just be unlucky with those kinds of things, but, yet again, it is good that I would most likely be held accountable for not sticking to my morals.

Cutting in Line Hurts Us All

I may be dramatizing this, but cutting in line hurts all involved. Not physically, but cutting may only help you in the short term, because there is never a guarantee you will be immediately attended. Not only that, but you are disrespecting yourself and your peers. I know self-respect is not something most think about often, but respect and morality do not occur only when you are watched. You don’t do good for those watching; you do good for the sake of doing good. And although something like cutting in line seems insignificant to determining your moral character, I believe that small actions are vital in propagating good.

What Has to be Done

With all that idealistic talk out of the way, it is time to be pragmatic in a solution. I am not one to promote constant surveillance, but it may be deemed necessary during the lunch period. There has to be some sort of staff member or teacher to enforce the lines and prevent people from cutting them. In the past it used to be that way, and sometimes we do have someone to enforce it, but not always. It is unreasonable to expect the cafeteria staff who put a lot of work into preparing, serving, cleaning, and handling transactions during the busy periods to also remember the order of students in line so that they can outwardly refuse them service for skipping. Not to mention it requires a lot of mental fortitude to handle the pressure of almost a hundred hungry students eager to eat before others. Put me in that situation, and I would struggle heavily. So, although it might take some extra organization, I suggest that it is necessary to have someone designated to prevent people from cutting in line.