WEB EXCLUSIVE

A high school bathroom wall is a form of social media. Think about it—students utilize it as a mechanism to express themselves, be it through doodling or writing or even sticking. Popular phrases are underlined, derogatory ones are refuted, and disagreeable ones are simply crossed out.

Last week, some students found it necessary to voice their antagonistic, inappropriate and absolutely ruthless opinions about the election. Was it justified? Absolutely not. While we do have the privilege to think for ourselves, there is no justification to perpetuate hate speech, especially at a time of crisis for many citizens. This mars not only our reputation as a school, but also our reputation greenery, as noble human beings.

Monday morning: as I entered the building 8 restroom on the second floor, rushing between 2^nd and 3^rd periods, I realized that noble human beings still exist on this Earth and not all hope is lost. Adorned on the back wall were a series of colorful sticky notes with uplifting phrases, such as “Thank you for being you” and “You are amazing.”

There was a hubbub in those 5 minutes before the bell rang—all around me, students, as they were fixing their hair and grabbing paper towels, smiled (mind you, this was Monday morning) at the sight of such a simple, yet powerful, piece of art. They slipped a quick Snapchat of the wall, distributing the message to their friends and posting it on their stories to spread the random act of kindness. After nearly a week of hate speech, finally, a sign of progress towards positivity had occurred.

What does the future hold? Will society continue to propagate abominable attitudes towards certain people? Or will we emulate the incredibly benevolent behavior of the group of students who posted the sticky notes? Time shall tell. However, even with a small-scale act of kindness, large-scale effects of positivity can circulate.