Should the 11th Graders Be Allowed to Drink Coffee?

A cup of coffee Image from Americano Lounge

As schoolwork piles up, as extracurriculars fill up any remaining free time, and as the tasks of the school day become more rigorous, students are increasingly looking for quick ways to boost their energy. Coffee is an obvious option because it’s sold in the café at school, relatively affordable, and delicious. But this luxury is only reserved for seniors.

It makes sense to some extent to restrict coffee consumption to the oldest students in the school, who are also enrolled in the most demanding and energy-draining course, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). From health perspectives, there could be some concerns as medical professionals strongly discourage children under the age of 12 from drinking caffeinated beverages, according to Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

But not even the 11^th graders, who are only on average only 1-2 years younger than the 12^th graders and are also enrolled in the IBDP are allowed to buy coffee.

Although unclear on why the school holds this rule, Vice Principal Ruth Herrin agrees that coffee consumption should be permitted for high school students. She said, “I think it’s OK for high school students to drink coffee. Personally, I grew up in a household where coffee was something we drank, tea is readily available, and I don’t understand the difference between coffee and tea unless it’s coffee with additives like sugar cream and other things.  I also don’t see a difference between Coca-Cola or soda pop products and other caffeinated beverages.”

By speaking from her personal experience, she also proposes that the coffee culture in cafes can foster a positive learning environment: “I have like really fond memories of being in grade 10 and 11 and sitting at an old cafe and getting my work done and with coffee, personally I don’t see an issue with that… for me the cafes are places where community comes together. I love coffee and I love the culture around it, and I like how it creates a space of academia.” Additionally, she argues that sugary beverages like and boba tea, that the café does sell, can be considered to be even more unhealthy than coffee; thus, the reason behind the rule may not be rooted in health concerns.

Many students also spoke on how they felt about the rule restricting DP1 students from buying coffee at school.

Some, like grade 11 student Judy K., argues that the rule is “not good because it’s unfair” and that “we [the 11^th graders] have more work than them [the 12^th graders].”

Grade 11 student McKenzie M., who frequently stays up late, said that coffee “energizes [her] more in the morning to stay awake for class.” She also said, “I think that we’re basically in the same age range and it’s we’re basically already seniors already so it shouldn’t really matter if 11th graders can’t buy coffee or not.”

It seems like the trend of wanting to buy coffee at school stops at any grade level below 11^th grade, however. Grade 10 student Kyle C. expressed indifference to the rule and is unaffected by it.

So why not just extend the rule to allow 11^th graders to buy coffee? MYP Coordinator Ralph Emmerink has some answers to that.

For him, it should be an all or nothing situation. He said, “I believe that if you open the gates for the grade 11s, then the grade 10s and the grade 9s and, in results, it will transpire all the way to the younger years because there’s a rule that only seniors can drink it. So, I would say it’s either for everybody or for nobody and I would then lean towards the nobody so I would even rescind the rule for the current seniors.”

He acknowledges that 11^th graders and 12^th graders are in the same age range and are both enrolled in the rigorous IBDP program, but his original argument withstands. He said that “if you want to drink coffee you can brew a nice cup of coffee at home and bring it to school in a nice thermos.”

Personally, I can understand where Mr. Emmerink comes from. With a long history of regulating the larger school population and curbing disobedience, it makes sense that he would rather not change this rule. But I think it is important for him, and the others that are for this rule, to truly understand the IBDP experience before affirming their decision.

As for myself, an 11^th grader who is nearing the end of the first year of the IBDP program, I truly think that if I had access to coffee at school, I would have been a lot more awake and focused in class. I can speak for the majority of the students in my grade when I say that this curriculum is tough; it requires long nights of studying, full attention in class, and never missing content. Additionally, students must take six classes, and complete tasks for their Extended Essay (EE), Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class, and Community Activity Service (CAS) requirements.

Grade 11 student Laura H. said, “since starting the IBDP I have had less free time for myself. Even when I miss school because I felt ill, I still spend the time at home studying or doing homework. My workload has never been this heavy in my whole academic career.”

In addition, this rule may be stepping across the boundaries between student behavior that should be handled at school and student behavior that should be handled at home.

If the school is so adamant that coffee will have negative effects on students, then they should have the parents educate their children at home, not enforce a rule at school. At the end of the day, it should be the parents who are teaching their children not to drink coffee. The school should enforce rules that are solely aimed at boosting learning, and not rules on somewhat personal matters that the parents should be responsible for anyways, like what you can and can’t drink. Moreover, I think the school should trust that 11^th graders, who are usually 16-18 years old, can make mature decisions about their caffeine consumption.

As Ms. Herrin mentioned before, there may be a concern regarding development or health that led to the creation of this rule. According to Harvard Health, “there is no scientifically valid evidence to suggest that coffee can stunt a person’s growth.” And even though drinking coffee can cause unwanted side effects, such as anxiety or sleep deprivation, according to the National Institute of Health, if it is drunk at least 6 hours before bedtime and only 100mg (approximately one cup) is drunk, then the side effects are minimal. Lastly, according to the American Heart Association, coffee “can also increase respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure, which is most often fine in normal people, but if they have a light health condition it should be under consideration.” Thus, coffee should be fine for adolescents who most likely do not have underlying heart or blood pressure conditions.

All in all, it would be greatly appreciated if the school could reconsider the arguments made in this article and permit 11^th graders to buy coffee at the school in the future.