During the school year West Salem High School adds several new vending machines. But from students’ perspectives, are the vending machine prices too high? When students put money in the vending machines their money may get eaten, leaving students with no snack and less money. So, do students really need more vending machines or is it ultimately just a waste of time and money?
Freshman Isaac Reed states, “Yes, I’m a freshman but the vending machine has already taken at least $20 from me.” It’s only been three full months since the school year started which means students could lose a significant amount of money throughout the year if they keep feeding the machines and getting nothing in return.
The fact that the vending machines in the school are taking money from students shows how there’s a problem that needs to be fixed. Most students don’t even use the vending machines because of the fear of what the vending machines can take from them.
Junior Grant Goff says, “I don’t use it much but nine out of ten times it will just take money and then not work.” The abundance of opinions about the vending machines shows how random the vending machines are and that they are not the most reliable things in the school.
There is a high variety of times the students use the vending machines but one of the times they can’t use it is during passing time. Reed says, “I’d love to be able to get a bottle of water during passing time instead of having to go to one of the horrible water fountains that literally make me feel like we’re in Massachusetts [because of the bad taste].”
But some students do think that there could be a good reason for not being allowed to use the vending machines during passing time. Junior Alejdro Casaies says, “It might be because a crowd might form around a vending machine stopping the flow of the hall.”
One thing that several students agree on is the absurdity of the prices of the food and drinks in the vending machines. Reed says, “Oh, the vending machine prices are super inflated. I just think that if they bumped it down by at least a dollar it would be fine.”
West may have added several more vending machines but from students perspective they are just a waste of time and money. When the vending machine works, the huge amounts of money that is taken from students is truly diabolical, but when it doesn’t work students money will be wasted on nothing.
