Following complaints from juniors over scoring for the Wrap Your Vice President competition during Spirit Week, the Associated Student Body is maintaining its policy that judges’ scores are final. 

Though ASB voted at first to omit the scores from the competition on Oct. 30, it voted to invalidate that previous motion on Oct. 31, according the the ASB Minutes from Oct. 30 and Oct. 31. The decision was made on the grounds of Article IX of the ASB Constitution, which states that, “ASB cannot vote on changes/scores during Spirit Week.”

Many Palo Alto High School students left Tuesday’s tutorial rally feeling confused and frustrated after the seniors finished first place in the Wrap Your Vice President competition, where two people raced to wrap the ASB vice president from each class in toilet paper. The first class to wrap the vice president in two entire rolls of toilet paper wins.

Although the seniors finished their two toilet paper rolls before their competitors, the finished product was not as complete as the other grades. Many disgruntled juniors claimed, as the rules specified, that each vice president must be rolled from “head-to-toe.” According to several juniors, the seniors neglected to follow this rule. Some argued that though the rules stated “neatness/aesthetics do not matter,” the seniors still broke the rules. 

Although the judges awarded the seniors with first place, they deducted 50 sportsmanship points due to their loose interpretation of the rules. 

Junior Trisha Razdan, who participated in wrapping Junior Vice President Chris Chen, said she thought the juniors deserved to win the competition. 

“The rules say head-to-toe and that should be honored,” Razdan said. “Even though they [the seniors] went the fastest, they didn’t necessarily follow the rules.”

Many posted on social media calling for other students to email ASB using a template drafted by junior Teg Singh and others. The email urged ASB to award the junior class first place.

“I decided to complain to ASB because the whole essence of Spirit Week, playing fairly and having fun, was lost as a result of the seniors winning unfairly,” Singh stated in a message to the Voice. “This has been one of the most high-energy Spirit Weeks for [the Class of] 2021 because we had initially believed that we have a fair chance at winning.”

ASB President Pooja Akella took a slightly different stance on the issue. Because the rules were unclear, the seniors did not necessarily break the rules, she told the Voice.

“The seniors interpreted the rules for head-to-toe as having toilet paper around the head and toe, and in between in a somewhat messy manner,” Akella said. “Because ASB’s rules were not clear, the judges had to interpret the rules as they saw fit and came to the conclusion reflected in the score sheets.”

After the 50 point deduction, the seniors received 450 points for the competition, and ended in first place for the whole week with 22,425 points. Juniors ended in second place with 21,180 points, sophomores ended in third place with 17,185 points and the freshmen ended in fourth place with 12,955 points.

For video footage of the rally, check out The Paly Voice’s Youtube channel (4:32).