The first quarter of the 2022-23 school year is already in the books, and Cal High is off to a bit of a rough start once again.
A new school year always seems to mean the same thing: more expectations that won’t be met, entertaining club activities, and more “appetizing” food for lunch.
With new Principal Demetrius Ball taking over, some new rules were introduced. When some of the rules regarding seating during lunch for this year were announced, lots of students immediately thought Cal was going to be like glorified detention.
These rules prevented students from going to the back parking lot during school hours, and restricted all students to the commons and the quad during breaks.
As a compromise, several new tables were added around the quad, that way only most of the students would have to either stand or sit on the warm, comfy concrete.
What a luxury.
Students, reasonably enough, felt like they were going to be packed in like sardines. To combat this, they had decided to protest with a walkout.
However, because of the rules students were protesting, they couldn’t go through the gates to commence said walkout, making it more of a walk-in. Trying to protest seating rules only to be stopped by seating rules. Oh the immobile irony.
Speaking of being stuck in the quad, last month students got to experience the wonder of Club Fair, where every single club-seeking student was crowded into a small ring around the quad. Spectacular.
Many of the students were interested in joining new clubs for their own interests, to widen their perspective, to add new activities into their lives, and to meet new people.
So, to make sure students wouldn’t miss out on such an opportunity, several club members represented their activities in the most effective way possible. They shouted at the top of their lungs that people should join their club.
Now, this isn’t entirely different from what happens every other year, but when you have a river of people slowly shambling their way through a club alley, all that noise blends into one big cacophony.
I would love to pursue my interests, but it would help just a bit if I could actually hear myself think.
On the other hand, a large number of students were more interested in collecting candy than joining clubs, as many clubs offered candy or other treats for those who would join.
The “thieves” managed to take candy by proclaiming they would join the club, only to go back on their word and enjoy the ill-gotten goods.
If this deception didn’t work, they would just pilfer the candy and run away with all the grace and subtly of a raccoon. Sometimes, a sweet tooth isn’t the best thing.
To add onto all of this, morning traffic around campus has somehow gotten worse. Didn’t think that was possible, right?
With the elimination of A-Period, everybody arrives at school simultaneously. Now, trying to get past the river of automobiles into Cal is like whitewater rafting.
As the school year progresses, more notable events will happen, no doubt, and some will even carry on to the following years to come. But if history is any indication, Cal students will always find a way to add their own interesting twist.