Food deliveries give rise to safety concerns BY RACHEL WU
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t’s lunch time, and the bell rings. Lynbrook students �ile out of their classrooms. Some head toward club meetings, while others round up their friends and settle on a place to eat their lunches. A noticeable number of students, however, have dispersed off-campus or to the of�ice to pick up their delivered lunches from food delivery services. Due to the construction of the new cafeteria which began during summer 2018, brunch and lunch food services have been relocated to the smaller concession stand near the football �ield. With no traditional kitchen equipment, food services are relying on a third party vendor which has led to different food than what students are used to and late deliveries. According to Lynbrook food service manager Jason Senior, Lynbrook has seen a 25 percent decrease in lunches purchased from the Lynbrook cafeteria since the relocation. In addition, since the cafeteria is under construction, the option for parents to drop off their children’s lunches is now unavailable. These changes have led to an increasing number of students using food delivery services through apps such as School Food, WeChat, and DoorDash. Not only do students �ind delivery services convenient but they also prefer
the variety in lunch options ordered from delivery services. Some students believe that the meal options from the school cafeteria have declined compared to past years. Junior Isabelle Wang began using food delivery services this school year when she realized there was a reduction in the serving size of lunches from the cafeteria. “I noticed during the �irst week of school that most of my friends and I were still hungry after we got lunch from the cafeteria,” Wang said. “Of course it is more expensive to buy it [online] than at school, but I think everyone is just willing to pay for it.” Like many other students, Wang uses a food delivery site called School Food. School Food is a lunch delivery service run by Matthew Lee, a 2013 Lynbrook graduate, along with his friend, Stephen Hung. School Food has a single delivery person deliver all orders to the group of people who ordered their lunches through a Google Form on its Facebook page. Lynbrook students have the option of ordering from local restaurants such as Chipotle, La Cueva and Bubble Tea Time. After �illing out the form, customers Venmo the cost of the lunch to School Food in addition to a $1.50 delivery fee which can be waived if a friend is referred to School Food. From his experience as a Lynbrook student, Lee recalls a considerable portion of students seeking other lunch options in comparison to school lunches. He says that the basis of School Food is to provide
students with that alternative option. School Food’s customers pick up their lunches during the �irst 15 minutes of lunch on Lynbrook Way, the street just beyond the bike racks which face the drama classrooms. “I have to stress that we are not delivering on campus,” Lee said. “We want to respect any of the school’s safety concerns.” Sophomore Eric Zhang has also expressed concern over the small serving size of the lunches. He believes that the larger portions provided by outside sources are more worth the value than options found at the Lynbrook cafeteria. Zhang also prefers the quality and taste of food of food delivery services. Zhang had ordered lunches from a WeChat group comprised of Miller and Lynbrook students and their families. Over the weekend, parents would meet up on the Lynbrook campus and give containers to the parent selling the lunches. The parent selling the lunches would then cook the lunches and store them in the containers. During the school days, the parent would then deliver the lunches to the students. “When I used to order lunches, I would order about three times a week. I normally prefer tastes of foods that are not sweet or plain, so anything spicy, salty or giving off different tastes that are not sweet or has not taste, I would order,” Zhang said. “Also, you can order outside food for less than ten dollars for two or three times the amount.” With the rise in the use of food delivery
services among students, safety concerns from Lynbrook administration have arisen. School administrators have often encountered delivery people entering the of�ice, trying to complete their food deliveries. Some have refused to listen to the administrators’ repeated requests to deliver the lunches off campus, and a few have walked onto campus and have even poked their heads into classrooms in search of their customer. On Sept. 14, an email was sent from the Lynbrook administration to students’ emails stating that while students cannot have food or drink delivered to school, lunch delivered off campus is still permitted. Jose Ramirez, Lynbrook’s student conduct specialist, says people walking onto campus possess a great safety issue. “There is no reason for a food delivery person to be wandering around campus,” Ramirez said. “For a person intent on doing harm here, posing as a parent or delivery man would be a great way to gain access to campus.” Ramirez has found that the email has helped resolve the issue so far and has recalled only one incident of a delivery man coming onto campus since the email was sent out. Lynbrook administration will continue to enforce these regulations throughout the reconstruction in light of the recent proliferation of lunch deliveries.
ART ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE LEE AND ARUL GNANASIVAM
The reality of mental health for the model minority BY DIVYA NELAKONDA AND NICOLE ONG
W
ith more than 50 distinct individual races and ethnicities and more than 30 languages spoken, the Asian-American and Paci�ic Islander (AAPI) community is the fastest-growing and most diverse racial and ethnic group in the U.S. Such diversity creates a plethora of cultural in�luences on mental health. In a recent survey sent to Lynbrook students, 60 percent felt that being Asian-American in�luenced their mental health; the most common sources of this stress were parent and peers. “As most Lynbrook students know, being Asian-American in�luences everything: who we are, what we do, what we eat,” said sophomore Jordan Lee*. “At the core of it all is our parents and their beliefs; these expectations build up over time and begin to feel con�ining, leading to frustration and anxiety due to factors such as pressure and achievements, among others.” In a 2007 study conducted by the University of Maryland School of Public Health research team, Asian-American participants reported that the primary sources of stress included parental pressure to succeed in academics and uphold the
“model minority” stereotype and the impression that mental health concerns are too taboo to discuss with their families. In some Asian cultures, education is highly valued, and children who do not exceed academic expectations can be seen as shameful. For example, Confucianism, an ideology created by Chinese philosopher Confucius, heavily emphasizes education. In several Asian countries, a traditional classroom education is supplemented with intense after-school tutoring. “Asian society’s view on children is they have to be successful,” said junior Avery Chen*. “Parents always want to be able to brag about their child. With the pressure of being a good parent getting mixed up with your child performing well, it creates a stigma around being Asian that your self worth is determined by the grades you get, your academics or your extracurriculars.” Moreover, stress from the “model minority” stereotype adds to the high educational expectations for AsianAmericans. Asian-Americans are often associated with the “model minority” myth that Asian-Americans are socioeconomically better off than other minority groups and
are expected to set the standard for other minority groups to aspire to. Stereotyped as hard-working, passive, and intelligent, AsianAmericans are often inherently assumed to be high achievers. AAPI individuals are thought to have overcome racial bias and are perceived to be less in need of assistance and resources than other minority groups. “I hate the term ‘model minority’ because it assumes that a group is in the same position as those with privilege, and that other minorities should look to us as the ultimate example of what they should be,” said Derek Zhou, a senior at Palo Alto High School and a member of the Santa Clara County Youth Advisory Group on mental health. “Moreover, the term ‘model minority’ negates the genuine issues that plague the Asian community.” Although perceived as a positive stereotype, the myth has a devastating effect on the psychological wellness of AAPI individuals. While AAPI and Caucasian communities have similar rates of diagnosable mental illnesses, little research has been conducted regarding mental health in the AAPI community. see MENTAL HEALTH page 12
MEGAN YANG // pg. 13