Students try to avoid them in the hallways. Their smacking and slurping makes students’ skin crawl. The scene is revolting for anyone who sees it, but they do not care. They glance side-to-side and watch the innocent school-goers give them grotesque looks as they pass by.
“I think there are times when people are too affectionate with one another to the point where it is uncomfortable,” said Ryan Rubenstein, assistant principal for student activities and facilities about PDA in the school. “I think it is okay to give someone a quick kiss and head off to class, but anything beyond that is when it starts to become uncomfortable.”
Students should not have to see other students kissing or making out around the school campus. Intimate relationships should be a private part of life, so those particular students should not make their private life public.
“I see it all the time. It makes me uncomfortable,” Rubenstein said, “but I also have no problem telling people that enough is enough and to go to class.”
Students should be held to the same standards as teachers and administration. The school would not allow PDA from adults; therefore, it should not be allowed from students either. After high school, students are considered “adults” in the world. In preparation for that, the school should start holding students to those expectations.
The root of inappropriate and unacceptable behavior in school is the high level of comfort felt in the school, according to eHow’s website. If students are able to display PDA on the school campus, they are showing they are very comfortable there. They are presenting a private part of life to the public school, which should be kept at home.
“PDA shows that [students] are too comfortable in the school environment,” Powers said. “They may feel comfortable doing other things that they shouldn’t be doing. This could affect the school’s learning environment as well as the atmosphere of the community.”
For example, a student who is making out at the school may think it is okay to make out at his or her job. This not only leads that person into trouble and a bad working record, but also the person he or she was involved with.
“In many states, it is against the law for public displays of affection that are inappropriate and sexually explicit,” Leslie Trotter, writer for Helium’s website, said in an article. “Parents shouldn’t have to explain to their kids before they are ready why some couple was necking in public.”
LZHS should follow the lead of other schools in this country. If not stopping it, PDA should at least be restricted in the school.
“I’m sure there are schools that have put restrictions on [PDA],” Rubenstein said. “I would be open to the conversation about this topic, but I also think the student’s opinion on this is a huge factor.”
For many students, their opinions are as obvious as the scornful looks they give to people who show PDA in the hallways.
Besides the fact PDA is gross and distracts from the school environment, It affects the timeliness and tardiness of other students in the hallways, even the innocent ones who just want to get to their lockers and their classes. Molly Powers, sophomore, believes that distracting PDA is less about the traffic and more about the daily scenes many teenagers would rather not see during the school day.
“People get annoyed if they walk by the same place every day and see the same people [making out],” Powers said. “Then people are late to classes and get in trouble all because a couple was blocking the middle of the hallway.”
School is a place of learning, and learning should be the main focus. Students should go to school, go to classes, and join clubs or sports, and relationships should be kept at home on weekends.
PDA affects other students during the school day, but also the students showing the PDA. During the “sick season,” many students are trying their best to stay away from sickness, but kissing and making out in the hallways is not helping. Students cannot prevent themselves from accidentally being next to someone who sneezed or coughed, but they can and should control as much germ transmission as possible.
“PDA does not help when trying to stay healthy throughout the year. Sickness affects a student’s school life because then they have to make things up,” Powers said, “or they come to school sick and can’t focus on their schoolwork. Their grades will then be negatively affected and they will start to struggle.”
Sicknesses are passed around quickly, especially when passing germs is as easy as a single high five. PDA obviously increases this rate. According to eHow’s website, germs spread three times faster just by kissing; therefore, making out can easily spread communicable diseases just by the kiss of a loved one during school.
Given that students will make out outside of school as well, if allowed in high school, germs have a higher chance of spreading. Also, seeing bad behavior in school can lead one to receive the wrong idea about being appropriate while in public.
Students, teachers, nor parents should have to deal with PDA in their lives. Relationships are meant to be private because nobody needs to know about it, let alone see it everywhere they go.