Unsigned staff editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the editorial board.

Coming out of a whole year of online learning has taken a toll on students returning to in-person schooling. While most would say they prefer it to the Zoom-ruled classroom, there are still things that require adjusting to. 

Most notably, students have missed out on an entire year of what is considered a child’s most formative years. It’s hard to learn about oneself and develop as a member of the larger society when you are confined to the walls of your bedroom.

Take for example the class of 2025. The last time they set foot on campus was halfway through middle school as seventh graders. For many, middle school is that awkward but necessary transition between elementary and high school, going from baking soda volcanos to frog dissections and learning to be responsible for one’s own time and work. Instead, they were thrown into the dog-eat-dog world of high school, with barely any time to prepare.

Returning to campus also comes with a lot of pent up energy, slowly collecting as students anticipated the day they would find themselves walking through the gates of Cal High again, ready to make up for lost school dances and football games. 

This pent up energy combined with a lack of maturity did not come without consequences, and it manifested itself into a series of destructive events. 

Before the school year could even begin, Senior Chalk Day was ruined by a group of vandals, covering the parking-lot decorations with their own drawings of explicit and obscene imagery.

At the first varsity football game of the year, Cal High students could be heard chanting “F**k you Antioch” to the opposing team and throwing water bottles and popcorn within the crowds of students in the stands. The following day, fences were found broken and porta-potties tipped over. 

Now, a TikTok trend known as “Devious Licks” is ripping through the country, and it has hit Cal High too. The trend encourages students to steal or destroy school property and post a video of it on social media. One such video depicted a Cal High student kicking a soap dispenser in the boys bathroom. 

Overall, students have returned to campus with a lower sense of accountability and pride for their campus and school community. Even if this attitude does not apply to each individual on campus, as a student body we must perpetuate a culture of accountability for one another. 

Now, more than ever, we need a strong sense of community to combat the obstacles that the pandemic has brought us.