Lunch on the Lawn, also commonly referred to as ‘church pizza’ may be permanently closed after disrespectful behavior from B-CC students attending.

Almost every Friday since October 2021, students at B-CC have been attending Lunch on the Lawn, or as most know it, church pizza. Church pizza is organized and run by Fr. James, a priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, located right across from B-CC. Ryan Maged, a co-founder of this gathering, explained that “Fr. James felt that B-CC students were too disconnected from their neighbor; he wanted the church to be a place kids were familiar with.”

Father James had to ask a group of students several times to stop talking and give some respect for just a few seconds; the students refused to do so, becoming even louder.

“Frankly disgusting,” remarked Maged, an opinion shared by dozens of other angered students who were not just excited about the free pizza, but over time looked forward to the warm, welcoming atmosphere of the church and Fr. James’ personality.

Over time, the crowd who enjoyed a peaceful Friday on the church lawn has become outnumbered by greedy students. Alex Hicks, a senior at B-CC and a regular at church pizza, commented, “there were many students, especially freshmen, who could not stop pushing to get to the front of the line.”

People seemed to forget that every week there was enough for everyone, even seconds. Have we really gotten to the point where we can’t simply wait a few minutes to receive FREE pizza provided by a Catholic church without getting impatient or physical? The push to cancel the previous gatherings allowed students to realize how certain actions can lead to unfortunate consequences.

Hicks added, “people needed to lose something special to realize they needed it.”