Hasty accusations only lead to further problems

Art has always been a practice throughout history by which we as humans have expressed truths that were simply too great for words to convey. We poured our souls, our feelings and our ideas onto any medium that would impress upon the viewer the significance of the topic being portrayed. Yet in a cruel twist of fate, our modern society is continually digressing from cherished historical values, and this deviation is most clearly seen in our use of art.
When you think of art, you think of a painting, or perhaps a statue, a sculpture or even a building. All of these are far cries from the manner in which our school was “decorated” in the past week. On the morning of January 17th, anxious students trooped into school prepared to take their zero period finals. Their restless eyes roved over the campus, glancing over the familiar landscape, a sight of consolation to those students who felt as if they were walking, not into a test, but into something altogether more sinister. Instead, what they found was a swastika spray-painted onto the map of the school grounds that resides in between the administration offices.
Luckily, quick action on the part of the janitors succeeded in cleaning some of the vandalism before the rest of the school arrived. Yet much of the graffiti remained. A physically incorrect rendition of a pagan phallic symbol remained splattered against the containers, while the phrase “got crack” shone out, vivid white, against the black backdrop of the amphitheater. Next to it was the equally insulting label: “have fun painting over this.”
Understandably, our school was outraged. What made it worse, though, was that, next to the message sprayed onto the amphitheater, a signature in bright orange paint resided: “PV.” Recognizing that this signature could have been created by anyone looking to deflect blame, Principal Mitzi Cress wisely reminded students that retaliation is not appropriate.

“Nobody should jump to conclusions about this graffiti thing,” junior Adam Whitman said. “Obviously, there are stupid people from Palos Verdes who could have done this, but there are just as many people from other schools who would love to see tensions raised between the two schools.”
Regardless of who did it, it is a truly disappointing fact that some deprived student (or students) would take out their frustration on a respected and established educational institution. And in the process, the perpetrators have caused our school to feel disappointment and overall disbelief – all during finals week, too.
So next time (you know who you are) – find counseling, and please don’t resort to vandalism.