Vandalism Tarnishing Mustang Spirit
The Pony Express Editorial Board
The Pony Express Editorial Board
The issue of vandalism is one we’ve heard all too many times, as our campus has been defiled more often, especially after “senior pranks” and ongoing gang activities have normalized such damages to school property. After the recent bouts of spray-painted graffiti and inappropriate words along classroom walls, it has become all too clear when it comes to the vandalization of our campus; enough is enough.
About a month into the second semester, our campus has been vandalized at least twice. The first was on Feb. 6, where the walls of the sculpture room, the concrete outside and the front sign, were tarnished by graffiti. Even a drama student’s property was caught in the crossfire as they were on campus due to staying late for rehearsals. The second incident happened not even a week later, when Spanish teacher Jesus Lopez’s room was vandalized with even more spray paint, toilet paper and salsa along the classroom walls.
It's no wonder why some good things never last, because all the money that would have gone to fund a shiny new water fountain, is exhausted by power washing graffiti off. All of the custodian's time, and school’s budget spent down the drain on these childish pranks, and “fights.”
Not to mention, the bathroom can get absolutely disgusting with students putting food into the toilets, causing them to clog. Having phrases written all over the stalls, wet toilet paper on the ceilings and trash left all over the bathroom. To create a cleaner space the school added trash cans into the restrooms. However, students still leave trash in the sinks making it difficult to wash your hands and while these activities seem trivial, they all add up to the unkempt environment of this school. Students have complained about the sinks and hand dryers not working properly, but nicer things won’t be given if respect isn’t given back to the school’s property.
The destruction of bathroom appliances like hand dryers, toilets and soap dispensers is highly inconvenient. In the girls’ locker room, there are many stalls and sinks, but a lot of the time, not even half of them are usable because a toilet would be clogged. On top of that, the soap dispensers have disappeared or been too damaged to use. The line outside the bathrooms despite empty stalls speaks volumes.
Some of these vandalisms go too far, especially when they become unsanitary. The custodial staff is often called to pick up after high schoolers who don’t know any better. They work constantly, but go unseen most of the time, cleaning messes early in the morning and are on the job right after a report is made. They have the right to be treated as humans, and the school really doesn’t deserve them at this point with all of the messes made.
As students and members of the community, we are sick and tired of the way the school gets treated. Year after year, slurs, food products and disgusting images get spray-painted on classrooms, walls and doors. Whatever was left of the Mustang spirit is being spat on with each new defacement we find. How can we be proud of a school that is being actively sabotaged by its own students?
About a month into the second semester, our campus has been vandalized at least twice. The first was on Feb. 6, where the walls of the sculpture room, the concrete outside and the front sign, were tarnished by graffiti. Even a drama student’s property was caught in the crossfire as they were on campus due to staying late for rehearsals. The second incident happened not even a week later, when Spanish teacher Jesus Lopez’s room was vandalized with even more spray paint, toilet paper and salsa along the classroom walls.
It's no wonder why some good things never last, because all the money that would have gone to fund a shiny new water fountain, is exhausted by power washing graffiti off. All of the custodian's time, and school’s budget spent down the drain on these childish pranks, and “fights.”
Not to mention, the bathroom can get absolutely disgusting with students putting food into the toilets, causing them to clog. Having phrases written all over the stalls, wet toilet paper on the ceilings and trash left all over the bathroom. To create a cleaner space the school added trash cans into the restrooms. However, students still leave trash in the sinks making it difficult to wash your hands and while these activities seem trivial, they all add up to the unkempt environment of this school. Students have complained about the sinks and hand dryers not working properly, but nicer things won’t be given if respect isn’t given back to the school’s property.
The destruction of bathroom appliances like hand dryers, toilets and soap dispensers is highly inconvenient. In the girls’ locker room, there are many stalls and sinks, but a lot of the time, not even half of them are usable because a toilet would be clogged. On top of that, the soap dispensers have disappeared or been too damaged to use. The line outside the bathrooms despite empty stalls speaks volumes.
Some of these vandalisms go too far, especially when they become unsanitary. The custodial staff is often called to pick up after high schoolers who don’t know any better. They work constantly, but go unseen most of the time, cleaning messes early in the morning and are on the job right after a report is made. They have the right to be treated as humans, and the school really doesn’t deserve them at this point with all of the messes made.
As students and members of the community, we are sick and tired of the way the school gets treated. Year after year, slurs, food products and disgusting images get spray-painted on classrooms, walls and doors. Whatever was left of the Mustang spirit is being spat on with each new defacement we find. How can we be proud of a school that is being actively sabotaged by its own students?