Top three reasons SBHS students are late to school: oversleeping, road construction, and missing your bus. Now they can add one more: Wawa.
For the past two years, SBHS students, teachers, and parents had been waiting for the grand opening. This September the doors swung open and students started streaming in. Little did they know, that the $3, 16 oz. coffee would come at an additional cost – a tardy slip.
“I was late to school because of Wawa, it took forever to get my drink,” said SBHS senior Georgina Paez. “When I walked into campus I had to rush to the tardy room.”
And student tardies isn’t the only problem brewing in the morning due to Wawa’s close proximity to the high school. There’s also increased amounts of traffic as well.
Increased traffic creates a hassle for students being dropped off in the morning. As well as teachers and students who drive to school. It can potentially make the roads near the school unsafe.
“I’ve learned to detour the area around Wawa,” said Sasha Cox, a math teacher at South Broward. “I go all the way around the school to avoid some of the traffic.”
The chain of Wawa convenience stores originated in Pennsylvania but is extremely popular in the New Jersey and Delaware area and recently started expanding southward. In 2012, the first ever Wawa in Florida had its grand-opening. Now, the very first Wawa in Hollywood, Florida is just right across the street of South Broward High School.
Although many others may not like the placement of the new gas station paired next to a high school, some students prefer the accessibility. There are many options such as Chipotle, Starbucks, and Publix for grabbing a quick bite to eat near the school but not right across the street like Wawa.
“It gives students a chance to grab something to eat before and after school,” said sophomore Valentina Molinari. “It’s close to the school so I don’t have to walk a lot like Starbucks or Chipotle.”
On the other hand, the new Wawa can become a breeding ground for fights and theft amongst South Broward High School students.
The convenience store implemented a rule that only two to four students can go into the store at a time and cannot bring their backpacks to help prevent stealing. Several students have complained that they have gotten their personal belongings like their backpacks stolen as a result of the rule.
“There have been numerous fights at Wawa, especially after football games,” said Molinari. “I feel like it can be avoided if there was better security around the area.”
