What would the Pine be without it’s drama? Through all of the rules and regulations, Spring Scenes was the center for this year’s battle between the students and the administration. Now that the smoke is starting to clear, I thought it would be interesting to get the inside scoop for why our puppet strings were being pulled. Everyone knows the feelings of students on this issue of PC censorship, but do you know what’s truly in the minds of the administration? In this one-on-one interview with Mr. Clark, he discusses why the final Spring Scene was cut, the rejection of the Daniella Folleco article in TypeOne, the reasoning behind these strict rules, and more.

In addition to reading skits and cutting those the administration felt inappropriate or offensive, Mr. Clark attended the run though of the show. However, he states in the interview that he was not able to stay for the last skit. “When you read it, it does not show you the mannerisms that the boys were behaving in.” He says the way the skit was portrayed, they were outright acting as if they were gay which is not what he expected. Many people, including myself, felt the last skit was very funny and a well-written representation of how girls act in an (of course) exaggerated way. Mr. Clark and a few other people in the audience took a different view of the skit. As soon as the skit began there was a feeling of discomfort within him watching the boys act like girls due to its potential offensive nature. He swiftly decided to mute it. “I made the decision, only because I was uncomfortable and some people around me were uncomfortable, to just mute it…As seniors, I thought about it, we’ll let it finish, but I don’t’ necessarily know who else is watching, how they’re watching and they’re younger kids. It was easier just to mute it. I’ll take responsibility for it, let them finish it up, and we’ll talk about it later.” One tidbit of information we as the students did not hear was when Mr. Clark returned to his office he received two emails from faculty members and two other students that came in to inform him they were offended by the skit. “I wouldn’t want anybody to feel that way,” says Mr. Clark. Whether people who are openly homosexual, unsure of themselves, or have friends who are homosexual were offended by the skit, people were hurt by the display. “They called it offensive, they called it an exaggeration of who they are, they felt like people were mocking them, they felt like it was a stab in the lifestyle they have. And maybe they have some of those mannerisms, but it’s not something they’re comfortable watching people do in an exaggeration and laughing about.”

In rebuttal one could say many things; it was a comedy show, it was just a joke. But where do we draw the line between a joke and something hurtful? This question will never have a definite answer, but one must use his or her judgement. “I always fall on the side of caution,” Mr. Clark states in one response. Living in today’s society, we know comedy is not the area to be overly sensitive. However, in an academic environment where others must interact regularly, we have to be very careful what we say to one another. Something one person finds funny could very possibly be hurtful to someone else. Just because you wouldn’t get offended doesn’t mean someone else won’t. What makes a joke a joke? The answer is always different. Mr. Clark’s need to “fostering an environment that’s comfortable for everyone” reflect his views as an administrator. “Whether it’s two people or sixty-four people, we don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable.”

My next question: how would you justify cutting the Daniella Folleco article? Mr. Clark’s response was as follows: “That wasn’t censorship. We asked her to put it in another venue.” The emotional content of Sammie Spector’s article was the reason it didn’t make TypeOne. Mr. Clark felt the article and it’s expressive, well-written memories would be better suited for a place such as The Scribbler where other emotional pieces are seen. “It would reach and have more of an impact in The Scribbler…than it would in Type One where people are just reading through it.”

Let’s talk about RULES *plays dramatic scary music.* How many times have you been late to class, been out of dress code, or skipped school with a bogus excuse? Probably not as much this year because admin has been cracking down on their new system. What caused this rise in strict rules? Well, looking at the previous years, “if you have kids that are missing 35 days of school in a particular year, you have a problem with your attendance. We only have 180 days, kids should be in school every day.” What is it that we can do to help people understand that being in class is important? This is the question the administration asks themselves. Regarding the dress code, “we’ve attacked it and we’ve got to attack it again.” Good luck underclassmen. “On a given day I can find 15 people that are not wearing what they need to wear. On a regular day.” Huh, it’s not just the Spanish wing that notices. “Is it the size of the school that people feel there’s no accountability, is it just that they don’t care, is it that they do it intentionally because they see other people doing it?” What’s your answer? (because who hasn’t done it at some point) “That shouldn’t be happening. There should be an intricate feeling from kids that come to this school that say ‘I know I can wear this, but I shouldn’t wear this’. That’s the part that’s missing.”

S.T.O.P. Think about your actions. “‘I know this is going to be a funny skit, but I’d rather not do this one because I don’t want to offend anyone.’ That part of it I think we haven’t done a good job with as a school.” What was Spring Scenes like a few years ago? “When I first started here, Spring Scenes used to be individually written. They were creative. They were from scratch. I think what’s happened is everyone’s sort of run to SNL because they just want to be funny and I think they’re missing what Spring Scenes was originally made of. Seniors were supposed to create their own scene and it was supposed to be funny…there were jokes and everything in there, but not in a light of hurting others.” Using SNL, Mr. Clark recognizes it will most likely push the edge. He feels the material of the jokes “are probably inappropriate for grades 9-12. They’re more appropriate for a 12th grader going to college…older audiences.” “Pushing the edge of being creative and crafty, it gets very sticky when you’re at school because everyone isn’t as sophisticated…some 9th graders are very innocent. To have them exposed to something unnecessarily is not what we’re all about.” The moral of the story is, as students (especially upperclassmen), we should be able to judge our own voice; to be able to say ‘even though it’s funny to me, I can see how someone else can see it not being funny.’ “Where is the filter that tells you ‘I better stop’.”