Hoover Challenger

I bear witness to complete and utter lack of social skills every day in this building. I see students treating each other, members of the faculty, the school building and school property and themselves poorly and as if they have no pride. I think that many of the conflicts within our school, work, families and lives can be resolved if we all started to do one simple thing: RESPECT.

When you cut me in the lunch line, you are displaying a lack of respect. You are saying that your time is more important than my time. When you fight each other because you are in different gangs or racial groups, you are disrespecting each other. When you speak maliciously behind your peers’ backs, you are being disrespectful. When you say extremely rude things to me while I am walking into the building in the morning, you are being disrespectful. When you steal my things out of my gym locker, you are not only being disrespectful to my property, you are committing a crime, which makes you a criminal. If students at Hoover High School could learn to respect each other, countless recurring situations like the ones listed would subside.

When you chisel graffiti into your desks and write nasty messages on the bathroom walls, you are showing a lack of respect toward the school building. When you steal a whole crate of lemonades from the milk cooler in the cafeteria, you are disrespecting the school as well as breaking the law. When you throw your garbage on the ground, you are disrespecting the school as well as the janitorial staff. We got a new gymnasium less than a year ago, and already I have seen students drop a can of pop on the floor and just walk away. I don’t care that you are not a janitor; you need to at least make an attempt to clean it up. Show a little respect for this building, and respect will come to the students that attend it.

If you are caught cutting in the lunch line, please go to the back of the line without making a huge deal. When an administrator is needed to coax you to the back of the line, you have problems. Can your chicken nuggets or cheesy bread not wait another 15 minutes? I have already voiced my disgust toward your lack of respect for the janitorial staff, but what about the other faculty? I do not care who you are, it is never appropriate to swear at anybody here at Hoover, especially the faculty. When the faculty tries to break up a fight, get out of the way and let them do their jobs. Do you not realize how animalistic it is that we crowd around fights and then try to delay the intervention of the administration? If a teacher tells you to do something, do it. In the end, you will lose the battle if you decide to resist.

Lastly, I would like to tell you to show some respect for yourself. How is anybody supposed to take you seriously and treat you like the young adult that you are if you do not do the same for yourself? Do not walk down the hallways, headphones blaring, and belting out lyrics like you have the talent of Alicia Keys or Chingy. Present yourself like a professional. When you wear jeans that compromise not only the waistline but the knees, it is hard for me to respect you. When you scream foul language into a full classroom, I cannot respect you. When you publicly proclaim illicit stories regarding your personal life, I cannot respect you. When you chant rude things to opposing basketball teams, I cannot respect you. I do not care if it is all in good fun, it is still wrong. Respecting yourself can be summed up by the adage, “Don’t dress for the job that you have, dress for the job that you want.”

People, you are going to have to learn the value of respect at some point in your life. The only question is, when will it be? Is your disrespect going to cost you your job? Your friends? Your honor? In the next few years, the majority of you will be on your own. There is no special pill that you take after graduation that makes you act mature. You cannot find moral values hidden in some desolate place. You must practice them. That is what high school is. Learning how to embrace your surroundings, good or bad, and make the best of them while simultaneously learning how to behave in social settings. Embrace the diversity that makes Hoover great and use it as a tool to foster the growth of interpersonal skills. Think how much better Hoover would be looked upon if we were to show respect.