In Spring Lake and throughout the country, we all know toilet-papering (TP-ing) houses as a longstanding tradition. During Homecoming Week, upperclassmen go out at night with friends and target their friends, teammates, and people from the other grade’s houses.
During class meetings in September, high school staff warned students about participating in TP-ing and other non-school sanctioned activities. Spring Lake Football Head Coach Cody Mallory of the five school districts where he has worked, Spring Lake is where TP-ing is most commonplace – and lasts all Homecoming Week. Several sports teams have been warned by coaches about participating in these activities.
Mallory said that beyond it being straight up vandalism and trespassing, it also affects student productivity due to the lack of sleep students are getting that week. There are many other ways the student body could be spending their time and having fun.
Our school laison said if you are under 18 years of age, you are not allowed to be unaccompanied in public without an adult after midnight. Those over 18 can be tried as an adult for criminal activities.
As a student, I believe there is a line that needs to be drawn if you choose to partake in these behaviors. Yes, destroying property is not OK and an illegal offense, but there are things that are not harmful to property that are fun to partake in. Toilet paper and various other (non destructive!) pranks are part of the tradition. However, it becomes an issue when people begin to deliberately harm cars, houses, or other property. Considering high school juniors and seniors are typically 16-18, they should be able to use their better judgment of where the line is.
Elicit TP-ing activities are a law enforcement issue, and Spring Lake High School is not responsible for students’ actions in this matter. What happens off-campus and outside of school hours can become a serious legal matter.
Many seniors participated in this tradition last Homecoming, and were looking forward to doing it once more for our final year at Spring Lake High School.
Many aspects of senior year have already been changed for us this year, including the new cell phone policy and changes made to our graduation. TP-ing is a tradition which is important to our school, so while there’s a definite line that can be drawn, I don’t believe it should come to a full stop. Just remember that there is a line, and there are consequences, and responsibility matters whether you participate or not.
