St. Dominic has made another change to the school schedule, leaving everyone from the freshmen to seniors confused. The new change dips into Empower Hour, which is now being referred to as “Empower 50 Minutes.”

The new change to the schedule includes taking five minutes off of Empower Hour and adding it to the first passing period. This ten minute gap between the first and second class allows students to buy breakfast from the cafeteria.

Upper and underclassmen alike are not a fan of the change, and the general consensus is that students are not interested in a change in routine, even if it is just five minutes. Students would prefer to keep the schedule as it is and focus on other issues.

One of the more important problems students want a fix to are long lines and lack of food during the second half of Empower Hour. Also, the lunch line traffic forces students to be late and even skip club meetings. The long lines deters students from taking the time to buy food from the cafeteria. As an alternative, students bring lunch from home and snack throughout the day to accommodate for their hectic schedules.

Although it is not as bad as it was the first semester, students are still forced to pick from a small selection if they choose to go during the second half. While the first half may have the luxury of choosing mini corn dogs, the second half may only have the choice of a cheese quesadilla.

Avoiding the lunch line ultimately saves students from stress. However, this is hurting the food program at school. The addition of a ten minute passing period is a change to help the program and students alike.

“It is to help our food service program… It is to provide options for our students to access our food service program,” said Principal Janet Eaton.

Similar to the ten minute passing period, some students still aren’t completely sure about how the Grab-and-Go lunches are supposed to work. How is the process supposed to work? Are students supposed to cut in line? How much are the lunches? These are questions students want answered, yet the only information students have received is an announcement over the intercom and a vague email.

There will be some confusion the first few days of “Empower 50,” but students will get used to the changes!