This year, there is a new equivalent to gum under the table, and that would be the wretched paper darts in the ceiling. These paper darts are a trend that has been going around on social media. They seem to be the new “devious licks” but easier and have been made into step by step tutorials.
They are made by folding sticky notes and using a mechanical pencil lead for the point of it, so it sticks to the ceiling better. I think we all already know that the ceiling tiles are already damaged enough as it is. Some are warped or bent, and sometimes the frames are wonky. Why do we need to have ugly neon darts sticking out of them, too? Additionally, Robinson has undergone renovations to the point where the school is practically new, and because we can’t have nice things, some students resort to the paper darts to ruin the ceilings.
After the darts get into the ceiling, how do they get out? The only possible way I could imagine would be getting a ladder, getting a chair, or, if you wait long enough, for them to fall like hail. Personally, I don’t want to touch a sticky note that someone left on the disgusting ceiling tiles. Sometimes there’s condensation on them from the broken air conditioning, and just thinking about it, I start cringing in disgust. Also, I don’t think anyone thinks to clean them.
It may be irrational, but I can’t get over the fear that someone is going to send one of these paper spears of death into the sprinkler system and trigger it. This would most definitely be horrifyingly awful for any devices, papers or books. These are basically paper airplanes with a different direction of travel; they can be unpredictable sometimes, and if they take an odd path, that could lead to an unplanned shower.
It’s pretty obvious that these darts are disruptive whether you don’t notice them until they fall onto the top of your desk, which would absolutely terrify me, or if you’re the person who’s throwing them. For the people who are throwing them, it can be distracting because typically it’s not just a singular dart going into the ceiling, instead it’s small groups of them. Meaning that it’s not just one small distraction, it’s multiple.
It’s completely childish. I am really curious about why people are doing this, because it makes absolutely no sense. Is it a form of entertainment? This type of behavior seems more like something that would belong in a middle school. The darts go up and eventually they will come down. If students want a classroom where people can think, learn and feel comfortable, the throwing has to stop.
