When the students of Greenwich Academy Middle School came back to school last fall, they were greeted by a number of changes: a new grade, new friends, a new schedule. However one change that was an unhappy surprise for some was the new birthday treat policy.
Students were now prohibited from bringing in snacks and treats from home on their birthdays. Instead, they had to choose between packaged “treats” including Chips Ahoy, Welch’s, Oreos, Twizzlers, and Rice Krispie Treats. All of these have extremely small servings and a ton of sugar, and a manufactured taste. Whereas before, treats often were from spots such as Crumbl, local bakeries, and sometimes they were even homemade.
Sure, Crumbl cookies do have a lot of sugar, but they also taste better than mass-produced Twizzlers and Rice Krispy Treats. But how do other students feel? We spoke to Group V’s Alexa Lopez-Garcia.
Alexa, how do you personally feel about the new policy?
I mean, I don’t really like it. You should be able to bring in your own treats as long as you know about the allergies in your advisory.
How do you think your classmates feel about the policy?
Most of them are mad; maybe some of them are happy, but whatever they are they must have their reasons.
If you could say anything about it to Ms. Walker, what would it be?
Maybe try to get people’s opinions, just make sure they’re reasonable.
That’s all! Thanks for letting me talk to you about this!
Happy to help!
Now we need to understand the opposing viewpoint as well. We grabbed a minute with Assistant Head of the Middle School Caroline Montgelas.
Hi Ms. Montgelas! Is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions on the new birthday treat policy?
Of course!
Great. OK, first question: Why was this policy put into effect?
Two reasons: One, we felt like girls bringing in their own stuff could be dangerous to other girls with allergies, and two, bringing in treats for the whole advisory could be too expensive.
OK. How do you think the students feel?
I think the students probably miss celebrating, but are probably happy to pick toys from the toy drawer.
Now, how do you think the parents feel about this policy?
Oh the parents are definitely happy about it.
I see. Were the parents angry before?
I guess. They would sometimes send frustrated emails to the advisors, and when a girl’s parent came in to drop off the treat in question, they were often grumbling.
Yeah, that sounds about right. Anything else you’d like to add?
Well, the most popular items from the prize drawer are hairclips and lip gloss.
[Laughs] Of course they are.
Now, we’re going to say something here that may help you see why we think this new policy is a bit of a stretch. Mags is allergic (yes, deathly allergic) to all nuts and sesame seeds. Last year, when she was in advisory, everyone made sure to check before bringing in any kind of birthday treat. In Middle School, girls are responsible enough to expect, learn, and adapt to the allergies of girls in their advisory.
Another thing: toxic working conditions. Hershey, which owns Twizzlers, has credibly been accused of abusing the J-1 work-study program turning foreign students who’d paid $3,000-$6,000 for a cultural exchange into “captive workers” on a candy assembly line.
Another another thing: ingredients. Twizzlers contain high fructose corn syrup, enriched wheat flour, sugar, cornstarch, artificial flavorings, and dye, such as Red 40. Ingredients in an average glazed donut (like ones purchased from Dunkin’ Donuts) are flour, yeast, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and salt.
Yes, we can all acknowledge that Dunkin Donuts aren’t the healthiest, but then again, they still have less negative impact on your body (i.e. artificial flavors and dyes). And treats bought from a local bakery, or that you made yourself, have much more healthful ingredients and are better for the community, workers, and the environment. Keep in mind the amount of plastic wrapping used for these products.
OK, now that we’re done complaining, let’s get to how to solve this problem. As Ms. Montgelas said, the two main problems were allergies and cost. Also, parents disliked the system because their children weren’t taking full responsibility for the treats. But as Alexa said, many students don’t like this new policy.
Alright, here’s the idea. The default for birthdays is bringing in your own treats, but you can send in a request (via email) for a treat provided by the school. Students would ask their parents which one they were okay with, that way the parents who disliked the old system would still have the option to use the school’s treats. As long as the students in each advisory make it clear if they have an allergy, and the student bringing in the treat is extra careful with the food, we would be able to bring this system back.