Shell-shocked

Egg Wars. (Egg wars Trilogy)

This is Spirit Week at Palo Alto High School, the week leading up to the homecoming football game. The students celebrate with rallies and costumes and classes compete for points. Many juniors and seniors however take the competition a bit farther in an unsanctioned activity called “egg wars.” In past years they’ve met under cover of darkness in the groves on Stanford’s campus along El Camino and pelted each other with raw eggs. This year however on Tuesday night the police were ready for them and were patrolling the groves. So the students went to Town and Country but the police were there too. A field decision was made to go over to nearby Gunn High school. The coast was clear and the two classes faced off and the eggs flew. The problem is that the eggs also landed…all over school property. Reportedly mess was left at the swimming pool and on the scoreboard, requiring extensive cleanup and possibly repairs.

It gets worse. Apparently some students brought frozen eggs so there were injuries. They are thankfully minor but completely unnecessary.

So the Paly administration has come down hard. They are seeking out all the juniors and seniors involved, who could face suspension. The administration also canceled rallies for the whole school yesterday and upcoming activities are up in the air.

The punishment may seem a bit harsh for high school high jinks but in the big picture there are aggravating circumstances. In 2007 a senior parked a car upside down on campus, causing $3000 in damage in the process. The school didn’t see it as a prank; they considered it vandalism and brought criminal charges against him. This year the tragic series of suicides at Gunn High School casts Tuesday’s egg attack as particularly insensitive.

It’s a shame to punish the whole school for the actions of some, and I hope the school is able to resume their Spirit Week and enjoy the homecoming game against Los Gatos Friday. The administration is justified in punishing those responsible for the recklessness, and surely they’ll spell out their expectations and tolerances very clearly next year. It is after all a school, and this is a prime teachable moment for everyone, students and staff.

[Source: The Paly Voice]

P.S. This is the first article I’ve ever read in the Paly Voice and I was very impressed by it. I found it well-written, thorough, and  professional. Commendations to the entire staff, especially the authors junior Chloe Chen and senior Patricia Ho. Unless of course they were the shadowy instigators of the egg war all along.

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