To review a leader’€™s choices so early in his career is dangerous. Like so many that have come before, a leader’€™s actions may have positive repercussions far into the future that cannot be foreseen immediately. Because of the recent restrictions placed on Band Raid and other activities, many students have displayed anger and resentment toward our principal. Even I, as an ebullient slave to tradition, felt a host of conflicting emotions toward Mr. Evans. But even if he moved my favorite part of homecoming to a reasonable hour, and even if he is shaking things up in many other parts of the school, we cannot just label him a bad principal and go on, oblivious to the positive work he has done for the school.

I’m not saying that Mr. Evans is above a critical eye, and I disagree with a lot of the things Mr. Evans is doing. For one, the changing of rooms was a huge hit on the culture of Ames High. Just thinking of Mr. Reichart’€™s German murals being smothered in paint brings a tear to my eye, not to mention the sense of disorder and disjointedness that the fragmentation of the individual departments brings to the hallways. Of course, a little confusion is an acceptable price to pay for a new principal.

But one executive decision I still don’€™t fully understand is the administration’€™s authorization and even support of the annual homecoming toilet papering of the school. It is illegal, it is wasteful, it is harmful to the environment, and it is absolutely hideous. I cannot get behind a decision that allows that kind of behavior. There was no plan for an immediate cleanup, so the toilet paper festers in our trees, our practice fields, and our previously pristine courtyard. The school’€™s support allows more kids to participate in this egregious butchering of our trees, which caused the amount of waste to triple, maybe even quadruple. And besides that, what happened to TP-ing specifically because it was illegal? We do not need the school to tell us when and how to prank the school. Although I cannot overlook the fact that Evans allowed this kind of event to happen, I do clearly see that Evans is also doing a lot of good for this school.

PE nowadays is more interactive and beneficial than ever. Thanks to the room switch, the special needs and ALP students have more of a chance to mingle with other kids instead of being ignored. And because Band Raid was several hours earlier, band students finally got a good night’€™s rest before the homecoming dance, and the band instructors did not receive a single threatening email this year , whereas they have received literally hundreds in the past. So let us not condemn Evans for his recent actions. Although they may seem like blunders in some students’€™ eyes, Evans puts a lot of heart into what he does. A great man’€™s actions are often unrealized right away, and I believe that behind his strict policies is a love for his school that all good principals must have.