Instead of grassy lawns and birdie putts, the dreaded whir of assistant principal Bob Spain’s golf cart is able to strike fear into any student so bold as to step foot into the parking lot.

The reason the parking lot is so intensely supervised is because Cal High is a closed campus.Once the morning bell rings, no one goes out and no one comes in. This containment was implemented last year.

This year alone, 18 teachers were hired to keep up with the exponentially growing student population at Cal High.

This year there are 2,671 students on campus, and it’s estimated that by 2019 the student population will exceed 3,000.

The influx of students has led to crowded hallways, classrooms, and also lunch areas.

When the limited number of tables available on campus overflow in an ocean of people and food, many students are forced to eat on the ground or in classrooms if teachers permit it.

One possible solution is to let the football stadium serve as a lunch area. But considering the way the main building has turned into a cockroach heaven and a janitorial hell, the stadium could become an even bigger nightmare.

Because of Cal’s growing student population, The Californian supports the return to an open campus for seniors.

Inevitably, some will condemn this suggestion.

Perhaps a 35-minute lunch period is not enough time for students to leave and return to campus safely, thus resulting in dangerous driving.

But a short lunch period would not necessarily contribute to the already reckless driving of teenagers.

An open campus can prepare students for what awaits them outside the walls of school. In the general workforce, people have a limited amount of time to eat their lunch.

Just as Common Core will supposedly help prepare students for real life situations, an open campus will prepare students for real life lunch schedules and time management.

Opponents will say it is safer to keep all students together in one area to keep track of everyone. Plus, tight surveillance can discourage the risk of substance abuse or students ditching classes.

But high school is the last stop before the “real world.”  Whether one is pursuing college or a job immediately after high school, it is vital that students  know how to be independent and take care of themselves.

High school adolescents cannot be babied and supervised their entire lives.