Sadie Nystrom
A no-nut policy has been implemented across the Albany Unified School District as of the beginning of this school year, with the new changes sparking confusion between Albany High School students and faculty.
This August the district office decided that no items containing nuts are allowed on any campus, hoping to protect students with life-threatening allergies. During a meeting with students on leadership on August 27th Michelle Lau-Seim, assistant principal at AHS, announced that this new nut rule had passed, and was officially an AHS policy for the 25-26 school year. This created confusion among faculty, who were told that the new rule had been suggested but needed review by the school board.
Lau-Seim told the club presidents that for the foreseeable future, no homemade food can be sold during bake sales on campus during school hours or given out at club rush due to the possibility of nut contamination. Students became worried about food-based events on campus, such as club rush and international food day, events that are reliant on students selling or giving away food. Club presidents were also required to skip their fourth period before club rush to check food for nuts.
However, AHS principal Daren McNally said that after club rush, students are permitted to have homemade food for events and bake sales. He adds: “the only requirement is that on campus, no nuts or nut products.” He explained that the nut policies had been reviewed and homemade food was now permitted. The previous policy had been kept in place for club rush to avoid any confusion due to last minute changes. He also hoped that club rush would help students understand what products contain nuts and what is allowed.
McNally explained that the school board has not agreed to the policies being set at the school level, but that district administrators, cite administrators, or other faculty of the district can still decide on rules for students safety, which are then implemented by the principals of each school.
Junior Nick Hoang, who has been informed of the policy and has a nut allergy, said, “Personally, I think it’s really unnecessary. If you have a peanut allergy, I think it’s your responsibility to stay away from peanuts and not put that responsibility on everyone else. I think elementary or middle school should have the policy because younger kids are less responsible than, say, a high school would be.”
When asked if age would effect implementing the nut polity across different campuses, McNally said, “[T]hat’s one of the conversations happening right now is, how does this look different at different sites, while still saying that we’re going to be in a nut free school to protect students with some of those really severe allergies.”
