After two years of debating whether or not to close the campus, Principal Williams, along with a management team consisting of teachers and students, finally decided on a semi-closed campus.

After being the only open campus in the Chandler Unified School District, and one of the only ones in state, the school has decided to minimize this privilege of allowing students to drive off campus.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” complained Ilse Urias, senior.

“Finally having a car and not being able to go to my favorite places for lunch, of course I didn’t like it.”

Many students like Urias saw the move as an irrational decision and thought administration was just trying to turn Chandler into a prison.

But according to Williams, it is the opposite.

He went on to explained, “we’re one of the most open-minded schools in the district, we want them to feel free.”

Having students being able to walk off campus leaves students the freedom to choose what they eat and where they eat it.

“We usually rotate going to Little Caesar’s and bring it back to the courtyard to eat,” explained Danny Johnson, freshman.

Many students like Johnson do this to avoid the long lines in the cafeteria.

“We try to give the students plenty of options,” Williams explained.

Even though many students were distraught over the closing of the campus, the move was made for safety reasons.

“Safety is our number one priority,” said Williams.

Over the past few years lunch time has been the cause for many car-related injuries and even fatalities. That statistic was one of the main reasons that Williams made the decision.

Each parking gate cost roughly $1,000 and by the time all of the gates are finally in place, the grand total will be just over $12,000.

Williams insists it’s a small price to pay for someone’s life.

He hopes the gates will provide safety for all of the student drivers but he insists the school will never be a fully closed campus.

Gates will be opened during lunch for half day seniors to leave but some seniors have found a way around this.

According to Williams, even with special ID’s, the plan isn’t fool proof but hopes that students will be more honest.

“There will be consequences for these ‘ditchers’,” he added.

With the new gates in place, Williams hopes to create not only a safe, but a fun environment for students during the school day.