Ella Brownson
While it may sound like a small decision, the implementation of coffee in the South Colonie High
School had many rippling affects. This addition to the school’s other food and drinks available to
students was put in to place in the first week of December. The options for the students include an
assortment of coffee flavors, teas, hot chocolate, and even different sizes to choose from. This small
change definitely caught the eye of students, but the motive behind its presence was unknown to many.
When walking through Colonie High School in the morning, one would often see many students
toting Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks cups. More often than not, these students were also running to
class, cup in hand, attempting to avoid a tardy mark on their record for homeroom. Since
administrators have put the coffee and tea in place in the cafeteria, less and less of these orange or red
cups can be seen in the hallways. While the excessive amount of tardies caused by coffee runs in the
morning may not have been the main motive behind putting the coffee in school, the problem has
definitely decreased as a result. The overseers of the office of the senior principal, Ms. Sullivan, were
unable to give a conclusive number as to what the total lates were before and since the presence of the
coffee in the school. However, several students feel as though they “don’t need to be late to get coffee
because I can just get it once I get here,”. This statement made by senior Clare Reilly was also followed
up with the point that, “while it is nice to have it here, the selection isn’t the same as Dunkin’ or
Starbucks… and the coffee here is only available during certain periods. Sometimes I have class and I
can’t get it.” This justifiable issue was also felt but a number of students. But when a poll of over 50
students was taken, about 87% were happy with the implementation of the coffee, 3% were indifferent,
and 10% did not think it was good to have in school. While the student opinion dominates the majority
of the conversations surrounding the coffee, the people responsible for the care, distribution, and
maintenance of the new drinks, also had opinions on the matter.
Cafeteria manager, Debbie Sterge was able to shed some light on the motives and affects
behind the coffee. “It is for the money. The school district was losing money to the big coffee companies
and other food places. We had to do something different to get the kids to start spending money at the
school again.” While the common misconception was that it was a principal or cafeteria staff decision to
put the coffee into the cafeteria line-up, it actually came from a higher up position. Debbie revealed that
the District Office of Colonie made the decision to put in the coffee. This reinforced her theory that it
was just another idea to get money back into the school. Debbie further explained her role in the
process saying, “I just place an order about once a week to re-stock. That is when they offer us the
holiday flavors. It’s kind of fun.” The teas, cocoas, and coffees seem fun and exciting to the students as
well, as Debbie says they are becoming increasingly popular. So far the flavorful, warm drinks have
decreased tardiness, increased school district profits, and even bettered mood in some not-morning-
people. While coffee and tea may have some serious long term health effects, Colonie High has chosen
to focus on the current positives of the caffeinated beverages.
