Long Lunch v. Immersives

The new Immersive program is one of the most cherished implementations of the new school year. Allowing students to choose what activity they do has led Immersives to be well received by the student body. Overall, most students welcome this new addition to Gilman’s community time. Despite having a positive reception, Immersives have somewhat reduced the number of long lunches—the most coveted community time activity in previous years. Long lunches allowed students to do whatever they wanted, from meeting with teachers to hanging out on the fields. Immersives offer similar freedom, though students now have to choose between one of a number of pre-approved activities for the whole year. This is a battle between two of the most well-liked community time programs in recent years. So, do students prefer long lunches or Immersives?

The inherent freedom of long lunches makes it a formidable opponent for Immersives. While there are nearly forty offerings to choose from, some students would rather just use the time to do work. Matthew Chi ‘26 stated, “I think I’d rather have long lunches than Immersives because I have more time to study and do work.” Many students have packed schedules, and forty extra minutes could mean a world of difference for them. “In a busy week, it’s kind of a breather to have a long lunch,” Vivek Raghavan ‘26 noted. Other students would love to use this time to hang out with their friends. After all, isn’t connecting with peers what the new phone policy promotes? Peter Yang ‘26 echoes this sentiment, stating, “I would like to just have the time to hang out with friends.” He also feels that the tasks that Immersives offer are not unique. “Clubs could just as easily provide the same activities,” Peter declared. Overall, the liberty of long lunch is what many students desire.

Still, Immersives are an excellent opportunity for students to expand their interests under the supervision of a teacher with experience in that field. Randy Liu ‘26 stated, “You get a lot of freedom from the loads of options, and it is more structured of a time because you’re there with a teacher that plans a lot for the activities.” With the number of options available, most students can find at least one that they enjoy. Many teachers work very hard to make Immersives the best experience possible. Rohan Jari ‘27 commented, “I think Immersives are great. I’m doing Google Sheets with Mr. DeWeese, and I love learning how to utilize that tool.” Another reason why Immersives have been so successful is their consistency. Randy made note of this, remarking, “Long lunches last year were pretty inconsistent. It was kind of a thing that just happened every now and then. So, I think having this more consistent Immersives schedule where everyone can choose what they want to do is better.” 

Despite differing opinions on the merits of long lunches and Immersives, most students agree that the best solution is to have both. However, due to the limited community time slots, other activities would have to be reduced for both to be available. Advisories, form meetings, and assemblies occupy most of these time slots. Notably, more time is allocated to assemblies than any other gatherings. Vivek reflected, “We could do with fewer assemblies. Some assemblies are longer than they need to be, and sometimes it feels like we’re just having assembly for the sake of not having long lunches.” By incorporating both Immersives and long lunches, “we [could] have time to learn our topics and also time to hang out with friends,” Peter noted. 

Although the loss of long lunch is disappointing, it is understandable. Mr. Ledyard states, “Thoughtful assemblies are far more valuable than no programming [during community time] at all.” Nonetheless, Mr. Ledyard confirmed that there will be at least one long lunch this year. However, its legacy will be primarily carried out through the extra ten minutes before assembly on Monday. Hopefully, this tradition of a few extra minutes can continue and serve as an heirloom of the majesty of long lunches.