The average student spends approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes in school. That’s more than one-fourth of the day. The school is like a student’s second home. Would you wreck your home by clogging the toilet on purpose or writing on the coffee table? Unless your plumber is really attractive, we doubt your mother would let you. Why would you do it in school?
According to the Problem-Specific Guides Series (Guide No. 35) by Kelly Dedel Johnson, the term ‘school vandalism’ refers to willful or malicious damage to the school grounds and buildings or furnishings and equipment. The Guide is acknowledged by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Vandalism is seen everywhere in school. It comes in forms of graffiti or destruction of school property such as the desks, walls, bathroom stalls, fountains, bulletin boards, and chairs. Students should be aware that vandalism is forbidden in our school and the state’s policy.
Imagine touching gum underneath the desk or having to face the same old broken chair every day in class. Envision opening up a textbook and finding some of the pages missing or doodles all over the place. You might find this beneficial because you have an excuse to not do your homework, but isn’t it frustrating for others?
Damaged properties are the results of poor student behavior and reflect on those who can’t look after themselves. Maybe that’s why teachers don’t trust us with simple tasks. For example, teachers aren’t allowed to have monitors to help them grade their student’s work anymore because the monitors misuse their trust from the teachers, according to Spanish teacher, Mrs. Myrna Franco.
Then there’s the bathroom passes. Do you think it would be necessary if everybody behaved like an adult?
 The bathroom is among one of the many places that are turned upside down, especially when teachers aren’t there to supervise. Because of that, the ten minute rule had been placed and often many students are complaining about it. They have to wait for ten minutes before asking for the teacher’s pass to go use the bathroom. Also they can’t leave the class ten minutes before the bell as well.
 “In the annex, some kids tend to abuse the bathrooms by clogging up toilets and throwing toilet paper everywhere,” said Mr. Richard Franzese, Assistant Principal of Security. “This is why we have to close down some of the bathrooms located on the first floor annex.”
 “By third period, all the bathroom stalls in the boy’s locker room are already clogged,” said Steven Saco ’12. “There are paper towels clogging the sinks, the toilets and even the urinals. Sometimes people don’t even flush.”
Megan Wong ’12 recalled that she even saw a comb inside one of the toilets of the girl’s locker room. She also added that the toilet papers inside are wet and soggy.
According to the Guide, in 1970, costs of school vandalism in the United States were estimated at $200 million, climbing to an estimated $600 million in 1990.
Nevertheless by 2004, the cost of school vandalism dropped to $93 million. It is not because school discipline problems have changed. Some schools just stop reporting it.
It doesn’t matter if vandalism is decreasing or not. This is not only the school’s environment; it is ours too. It should be emphasized that students clean up after themselves because what they do portrays what they’re going to be like in the future. In reality nobody knows what goes on in students’ minds when it comes to damaging things.
 “Those students have a lot of time on their hands and have nothing better to do. I blame it on the staff, especially in the locker rooms. I think they’re understaffed in that area,” said Adrian Villaroman ’11.
 “They are bored in class so they find something else to do. I drew on desks and tore pages out of the textbooks, but that does not mean I’m a criminal,” Ken Chiu ’12 said. “I bet you drew on a desk before too. Even a small doodle, means you’re guilty. However, I didn’t mean to sabotage the school. I think people should treat their school as if it was their house because they will stay at Midwood for four years.”  
When you don’t study, you fail. When you kill someone, you go to jail, at least most of the time. What happens when you wreck property that’s not yours? There are always consequences when you don’t abide by the regulations.
“If we catch kids doing vandalism, it may result in suspension or in police arrest,” said Mr. Franzese.
Luckily, cases of serious vandalism are usually rare. The building is much cleaner compared to before, according to Mr. Franzese.
He added, “There are no complaints of computers being broken or anyone breaking the Smartboards. Three to four years ago, I thought for sure that these things would break. But the results turned out differently.”
The way we treat the school’s possessions reflect our responsibility and overall behavior. People should work hard to promote a safe, clean environment for themselves and others. With everyone’s contributions and effort, the school could improve for the better, and of course, be damage-free.