Despite the custodians attempts to remove it, the slogan is still visible on the cement outside the circle doors four days after the spray painting. The vandalism occurred June 4 while rising seniors painted the senior wall.
Vandalism leads to suspensions
Spray paint causes difficulties for custodians
June 9, 2015
While painting the senior wall June 4, several students spray painted the words “Go big or go home” on the pavement outside the circle doors and four were subsequently suspended.
Principal Scott Meyers said anytime students deface school property it falls under the category of vandalism.
“Anything that would cost money to replace, cost money to repair, cost money to clean, that’s pretty clearly vandalism,” Meyers said. “There were school consequences for the vandalism that occurred.”
Junior Mara Henderson, one of the students involved in the incident, said she and her fellow students acted impulsively and she regrets her actions.
“It was all very in the moment and a few of us went by the C doors and started to spray paint the sidewalk with the runner up quotes for the wall,” Henderson said. “I wasn’t really thinking about the damage that I was doing.”
According to custodian Greg Nielsen, it could take years for the spray paint to come off the cement fully, because it’s an especially tough substance to remove.
“What we did was we used a high-pressure sprayer, and we tried various different solvents to loosen it from the cement,” Nielsen said. “We spent most of one whole morning just putting on paint remover and washing it away, putting it on and washing it away. Little by little it lightened.”
Junior Ben Freund said he has a hard time understanding what would motivate students to spray paint the cement outside the school doors.
“I don’t understand why you would spray paint the cement when you know that the janitors have got to spend hours cleaning it up,” Freund said. “You know that there’s no good that can come out of it.”
Meyers said the wall is the one place students are allowed to paint, and they have this opportunity based on their adherence to school regulations.
“The wall is something that students have done for years, and it’s a privilege,” Meyers said.
Henderson said she believes she made a foolish mistake and wishes she had thought about the consequences of her actions beforehand.
“We could’ve spray painted the grass or something and that wouldn’t have been harmful to the school and wouldn’t have been considered vandalism,” Henderson said. “The four people that got suspended — we’re not happy with ourselves. That’s the best way to sum that up.”