Get a room! ...
... And we don't mean classroom. Student airs gripes against PDA
It's common knowledge that high schoolers are perpetually hyper bouncy balls filled with out-of-control hormones. They practically exist on a continually flowing amount of energy drinks and pizza.
So it's not surprising that teenagers turn into grunting, panting subhumans when they are faced with their romantic counterpart. Public displays of affection, or PDA, are banned in all forms at OHS. But that doesn't stop the hormone train from zooming around the halls and stopping at each grade level.
The Oswego High School Student Handbook for 2009-2010 states the following on the subject of PDA, "Inappropriate displays of affection are prohibited." It seems to be pretty straightforward. But the question is, what exactly is defined as inappropriate? Something as simple as holding hands seems to be all right, and is one of the most common ways to show the affection between two people. Faculty tolerate this the most out of all forms of PDA. But as English teacher Tara Jerbi put it, "Beyond handholding, it's just yucky."
Regardless, those who walk the halls of a high school can lay their eyes on one of the most common sights in a high school -- the sexually active teenage couple.
On benches, against lockers, in doorways, in stairwells, these duos are everywhere. Seemingly unbreakable, they will remain locked together until the last possible minute, meaning that they will most likely have to sprint halfway around the school and be late to their first block class. Because it's so important that a girl tells her boyfriend for the 1 millionth time in the last 20 seconds that she loves him so much.
These duos are the most flagrant abusers of the PDA rule. They stand in the middle of the hallway, or up against a row of lockers that just happens to include your own.
"I can see some kissing, little pecks. Anything beyond that, keep it to yourself and outside of school. Nobody wants to see that," says senior Kasey Poppelmeier. The displays of sincere love are so ungodly loud, that it is just slightly possible to hear the difference between the sounds of face-sucking and the muted whispers of true love.
There are many ways to solve the issue of PDA in high school. But the most obvious way is also the most difficult. High school couples need to accept the harsh reality that is told to them by multiple people on a daily basis. The plain truth is that high school relationships rarely last very long. The situation isn't helped when couples are seen all over the school and town so much that their names start to blend from "Bobby" and "Susie" to "BobbyandSusie."
So, don't go around blathering on about how much you love each other, and how you'll be together until the day you die. Because the simple truth is ... you probably won't.
"From My Desk" is a Beacon-News feature for students by students. If you are a high school student interested in writing about local issues, contact Readers' Editor Cindy Goldberg at cgoldberg@scn1.com or 630-416-5276. You can also leave a message on The Beacon-News' Facebook page.
