Written by: Rylee Sturgis, Staff Writer
CHAOS: Several unfortunate events occur within just two weeks at Poly High School.
On January 24th the fire alarm went off here at Poly High School. Many students were not surprised as the alarm is frequently set off by accident and did not panic. This time however seemed a little different, as the alarm was not stopped. There was a drill scheduled for later in the week, so many students believed the reason for the presence of the alarm might have been related to this, but it was a different case. Teachers immediately began to evacuate to the field. This was not just a normal occurrence. News quickly spread of a potential fire. While the details are debatable, one thing is for sure, the boy’s bathroom was filled with smoke. As the door opened the gray smoke poured out from what many have agreed was the trash can. Students moved to the field slowly as they realized with shock, the alarm was not stopping anytime soon. There was chaos and disarray as students wondered where they should go. To their fourth period, or to the enrichment period they had just been to. Eventually, students checked in with their fourth-period teacher as they soon figured out where to go. Afterward students got an extension of lunch as it had been interrupted. Following the event, a fire truck could be seen outside the school, letting those who saw it know that this had not just been a miscommunicated accidental alarm, but rather a legitimate fire.
The very next day another incident occurred with a fire. On January 25th, Avid went on another college field trip, but this one was a bit different as the bus began to fill with smoke. There was confusion as to what exactly was happening initially, but as the bus pulled over on the freeway, students were told to evacuate from the back of the bus to the front. As the bus filled with the gray fumes, it became clearer what was happening. Andrea Arce (9) stated “All you could see was smoke and people panicking” regarding the event. Due to a lack of preparation and practice of such an evacuation, chaos ensued. Christian Henderson (9) stated that he “was frightened” due to the lack of communication about what was occurring. However, it was quickly determined that something had gone wrong with the engine in the rear of the vehicle. There were no injuries sustained in this event. Another bus was called and the students were able to continue their trip.
Just as things started to calm down, Poly High School was tagged on February 6th. There was graffiti by the vending machines, as well as the Bear Den. The message displayed was the same vulgar language saying “**** Poly” in red spray paint. There are several rumors about who the culprit is, however nothing has been confirmed. A team of Poly staff employees were dispatched to remove the tags during zero period, and due to their diligent work most of it was gone before the majority of the student body arrived at school. It should be noted that they used red spray paint on red brick which was not overly attention-grabbing, and the messages were unoriginal. Obviously, no one condones the act of graffiti or any behavior that damages our campus. Let’s respect our Den Bears!!!