Emilia Savini
Reporter
I am bisexual and people pick on me because I’m weird
This message, which was written in black ink on the white bathroom wall is among many scribbled messages in the girls bathroom. Anonymous students pour out their emotions and make their personal struggles open to interpretation to the other girls who use the history hallway bathroom on the second floor of NCHS.
Reading this graffiti incites mixed reactions from the student body. “At first I was confused why people were writing on the walls, but once I started to read it I began to think about the serious emotions the girls are feeling,” junior Bridget Callahan said. “It makes me wonder where these thoughts came from and what these girls are really struggling with.”
Although the male students were unaware of the writing, after seeing two photos of “I’m fat” and “I’m ugly” scrawled across the wall, they too were disconcerted. “It’s saddening that people would say this about themselves and it shows that their main focus is on their looks rather than their personalities,” sophomore Jarrett Torromeo said.
After reading the bisexual comment, sophomore Sabrina Santoni feels the severity of these topics reflects the social makeup of NCHS. “I think the writing reflects how girls feel that they have to maintain a certain image in this school,” she said. “The fact that they are not comfortable with who they are shows that girls feel very socially pressured.”
Sophomore Meghan Egan agreed. “I think it shows that some people get forgotten and left out,” she said. “Everyone should try to be kinder to one another.”
Sophomore Mary Louise Taylor was shocked by a comment that said I wish people could kill me because I’m a bad person to everyone. “It’s horrible seeing these things,” she said. “I think this is from people who don’t have an outlet and need some form of help but don’t know how to achieve the help.”
While some see these exclamations as an attention grabber, others believe the writers are issuing a cry for help. “It seems like whoever is writing these things does not have an outlet or a person to talk to,” school psychologist Christina Calcagni said. “I would only wish and hope that they would come to us because that’s our job and we have support personnel care who are trained and prepared to talk to students about these types of issues.”
Lack of awareness of the graffiti kept the bathroom below the radar of the NCHS staff and administration for months, but after bringing this topic to the attention of Principal Dr. Bryan Luizzi, the graffiti was painted over within hours of the interview. “We speak with our facility workers and custodians often, but I was unaware that this was occurring,” Dr.Luizzi said. “I am quite surprised, I think it is very important for us to keep the bathrooms clean and neat, and now hearing of this issue I would like it to be addressed immediately.”
The serious topics addressed on the bathroom wall often provoke back and forth commentary from anonymous sources, and Dr.Luizzi is concerned about the emotional effects the feedback may have on some students. “What I fear is for somebody to try and express something they feel strongly about and someone writes something mean or negative back,” he said. “Then our students could take that personally and it could really have a detrimental impact on them.”
When it comes to finding a solution, Dr.Luizzi encourages students to use the school staff members as alternative outlets for their emotions. “I would urge everyone to talk to somebody if they are feeling these social pressures so that something can be done about it,” he said. “We have such great people here between our counselors, psychologists, social workers and coaches. There are lots of people who care deeply about helping our students be successful.”
Some students feel the writing should inspire change and new behavioral habits among students. “We should try to include everyone and take the initiative to always be inclusive because there are a lot of girls who are not comfortable with who they are,” senior Alex Naughton said. “I think we need to have more awareness of bullying in this school.”
Students have also proposed tangible solutions to this problem. “There could be an after school group that is anonymous, maybe around 2:50 so that people aren’t around to see them attending the group if they feel self conscious about it,” sophomore Meghan Egan said.
Linda McGann, a school guidance counselor, is aware that students may feel insecure sharing their emotions with staff members, but she ensures that all information shared stays private. “We encourage students to come to us and share their feelings, even if it is a friend of a friend informing us of some issues,” she said. “It is completely confidential, but knowing of an issue allows us to work to solve it.”
Hoping to spread the word about the numerous options for helping students, Ms.Calcagni looks to better inform the students. “Obviously this is a really important topic and maybe we can work to fit it into the advisory curriculum so the word gets out among the student population,” she said. “Then maybe, more people will be encouraged to speak up.”
