It’s a nice April day, clear blue skies, sun shining bright, and the bell rings as open campus lunch begins. Students at Mount Vernon High School grab their keys and head out for open campus lunch, one question shapes the next 35 minutes:

“Where should we go for lunch?”

In a little town like Mount Vernon, there are very few places to go. To find out which spots stand out, two sophomores and upperclassmen, Matt, Teddy and Juan, shared their go-to choices for food during open campus. Their favorite meals and the reasons behind them. Their answers, along with a student survey conducted March 31, revealed a wide variety of choices for lunch.

Goodlove keeps his top three choices simple: Subway, Si Señor and Panera. Each place offers something different, which is one of the reasons he likes them. His order at Subway, he goes for Italian herb and cheese bread with turkey, bacon, American cheese, toasted and finished with lots of ranch.

“That’s got to be fire right there,” Goodlove said. “Like, that’s just a masterpiece.”

While Subway is close and easy, Si Señor gives him something different from normal. He gets the chicken and cheese enchiladas to change it up.

“Si Señor is my favorite because it’s different,” Matt said. “I like to mix it up every once in a while.”

Panera was the place to finish off his list, not just for the food but for the atmosphere. His favorite meal is the mac and cheese bread bowl.

“They have a really nice outlet in the mall,” Matt said, showing that location and atmosphere matters too.

For Bonewald, convenience is very important. His top three are Dairy Queen, Casey’s and Subway, which are all places where he knows he can get food and get back to school fast. During a short lunch period, that convenience is very important.

“I would say the thing that they all have in common is that they’re super convenient and fast,” Bonewald said.

At Dairy Queen, Bonewald orders chicken tenders, sometimes with buffalo sauce, always dipped in ranch, and likes to get their smoothies along with it. At Casey’s, he gets popcorn chicken with boom boom sauce and a lemonade. Subway for him varies where he switches up his sandwich depending on the day, though he sticks with Italian herb and cheese bread.

Ocho’s choices are very similar to Bonewald’s, and his reasoning the same. His favorites are Casey’s, Dairy Queen and Subway, with his main reason being for convenience.

“There aren’t that many close places to eat in Mount Vernon,” Ocho said. “And they are my favorite.”

At Casey’s, he gets a slice of pepperoni pizza, Chester’s Hot Fries and a Cherry Coke. At Subway, he builds his own footlong chicken bacon ranch with jalapeños, mayo, ranch, lettuce, pickles and shredded cheese, always toasted. Finally for dessert, he goes to Dairy Queen to get a M&M Blizzard tops his list.

In a March 31 email survey of upperclassmen, the favorite open campus lunch locations. The overall choice was simply going home, which received 11 votes. Subway, Si Señor and Dairy Queen followed closely with seven votes, Casey’s earned three votes, while Chick-fil-A received two. Many other options including Big’s BBQ, Fuel, Yock’s Landing, Raising Cane’s, The Art Room and Pancheros, each received one vote.

These results show a pattern between the students, they prefer something convenient while still having good food to eat. But some want variety in what they want so they take the long trek to the place that fits their cravings.

As the lunch period continues and cars begin to return to the school parking lot, one thing is clear. Open campus isn’t just about food, it’s about convenience, atmosphere, and its difference from other places. Whether it’s a masterpiece sandwich, a booming order of chicken tenders or a trip home for whatever you want.

Tomorrow comes around, the bell rings again, students will be asking the same question again: where should we go for open campus lunch?