By Athena Li
An anonymously affixed billboard appeared on the walls of Commons I in the early hours of Mar. 17, leaving Lexington High School administration baffled. The billboard, which was labeled the “Wall of Projection” in bright pink highlighter, came with a pinned manual detailing the rules for posting.
According to the manual, the purpose of the Wall of Projection is for teachers to anonymously express what they wish students knew about their struggles as an educator. The posting restrictions come from an interest in maintaining positivity, with the first page of the manual reading, “don’t be meanies or else >:(” in capitalized, bolded, and italicized size 36 Comic Sans font.
However, the board has also inadvertently turned into a space for teachers to lament about their students’ behavior, despite the manual’s explicit condemnation of negative comments.
“I know those kids are on their phones during their so-called ‘bathroom breaks.’ I understand not caring about the Indus River Valley civilizations, but come on!” one such sticky note read.
LHS students have mixed views on this new communication system. While many are glad they finally get to know whether their teacher actually hates them or not, many have also learned that, unfortunately, the answer is often a flat “definitely.”
These concerns have led Mahima Ramesh, a current junior at LHS, to create the Wall of Insurrection. The billboard, also located in Commons II, is a platform for public student opinions on their teachers. Ramesh views the Wall of Insurrection as an equalizer between LHS students and faculty.
“You ever just walk by the Wall of Projection and see a teacher bad mouthing you about always running out of lined paper?” Ramesh said. “It’s only fair that the students have a board of their own.”
Students have used the opportunity to vent about their teachers.
“I think it’s a good thing that we have this board because I’m just saying, it’s kind of hard to learn stuff during class when your teacher goes on a five-minute tangent about their childhood pet dog, Roxie, and how sad they were when she died… what does that have to do with logarithmic functions?” Eihata Nimals, a freshman, said.
Despite popular student support, LHS staff members have protested the Wall of Insurrection, citing the board as a violation of the valiant and long-suffering LHS Mission Statement.
“Roxie was a dear friend of mine, not just a dog. She was almost like a person, except, she barked and pooped on the floor,” Ally Jebrah, a math teacher, said. “The LHS Mission Statement says that we need to have joy in learning and compassion in all we do. I don’t think I can be very joyful and compassionate when I have to walk by an exponential graph of how many times I mention my dear Roxie in class every time I walk by Commons I.”
The LHS administration immediately tore down the Wall of Insurrection after a sticky note reading “OK BOOMER” was posted.
“While the Wall of Projection creates an environment of constructive criticism, the Wall of Insurrection fuels intergenerational tensions,” Andy Roo Baykor, an administrator, said. “It’s downright ageist.”
This article was a part of Issue 5 of the Musket, or the April Fools issue, and this article was satirical, so none of the information in this article, or in this entire issue is true.
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