Students at Camas High School (CHS) express their frustration about the inconvenient operating hours and the lack of maintenance of the vending machines located in the CHS Commons. 

Currently, the vending machines are turned off when school is in session from 8:45 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., meaning that students cannot purchase snacks or drinks during school hours, which many students believe defeats the purpose of having vending machines. 

Junior Nathan Chui said, “You can’t get food during conference period, which sucks because when else are you going to get food? I want to be able to grab food during lunch, but the way the vending machines are set up doesn’t let me do that. ”

Junior Gannon Albertsen said, “[The vending machines] are infuriating because I get hungry throughout the day and I leave before school ends so I don’t have an opportunity to utilize the vending machines, which is disappointing. I think that it can be really inconvenient sometimes.”

Contrary to the belief among students, the vending machines are closed for specific reasons. 

Associated Student Body (ASB) advisor and Sophomore Associate Principal Owen Sanford said, “During the school day and during lunch, the vending machines are closed because at one point, they were competing with the Student Store. The Student Store is student-ran, and those funds go to students in DECA and other activities. Since those proceeds benefit our students the most, that’s why the vending machines are closed.”

The vending machines are also closed during school hours to avoid being a distraction to students during class time. Students leaving in the middle of class to grab a snack from the vending machine is disrupting the learning environment. 

“If students are going out of class and getting chips and pop and stuff, then it’s not good,” Sanford said. 

The operating hours are not the only bothersome aspect of the vending machines. Many of the machines seem to be out of order or do not have signs telling students when operating hours are.

“The vending machines are always out of order, especially the one by the theater. I think I lost $5 in total from that one. There are also no signs that let people know about whether the vending machine is in use or not. A lot of them are constantly out of order,” Chui said. 

It is important for students to remember that they can still purchase food or drinks from the vending machines before school starts in the morning. There are also alternate options available at the Student Store.