Freshman Friday has been, for better or for worse, one of the many longstanding traditions here at Paly. Most years, it’s more or less the same deal: upperclassmen drive around in their cars and a few eggs and water balloons get thrown at freshmen. Some may come home a little dirty or wet. However, in my experience, nobody is hurt, and no real harm is done. This year, a seventh grader ended up paddled, freshmen were shot by paint-ball guns, and students of all grades endured a barrage of of projectiles upon exiting the Embarcadero underpass. These actions were completely unacceptable.

The paddling is the occurrence that, to me, is the most objectionable. It is morally wrong to beat a kid, or any person, with a piece of wood. Period. Firstly, it leaves marks, hurts badly, can cause lasting damage, and is utterly humiliating for the poor kid who had to suffer through it. Secondly, the kid was not even a freshman. He was a seventh grader, which would normally mean that he would be ignored, not singled out for harsh treatment.

Secondly, drive-by paint-ball shootings are, well, there are a lot of words that they are, but we’ll go with dangerous. Paint-balling is so dangerous that even paint-balling arenas require participants to wear masks at all times. Paint-ball guns have the potential to ruin an eye, and even glancing shots leave welts. They are weapons, and it is utterly dangerous to shoot an unprotected person with one.

I am a junior, and as such, I feel that I can attempt explain the sentiments of the upperclassmen who have participated in Freshman Friday. The freshmen are new and untested. They might think that being in high school makes them “big” or “cool”. Upperclassmen want to ensure that they know that they are not special, and that we have gone through more. While I may or may not personally agree with that sentiment, I can understand and respect it. Yet there are better, and arguably more effective, ways of communicating that.

I’ve also been through the Freshman Friday experience. During my freshman year, on my way home I was egged multiple times by upperclassmen. The message was clear, “Know your place.” However, I can say that the threat of real physical harm was never conveyed.

I’m not saying that Freshman Friday should be abandoned. I’m not saying I think that this event was handled well. I’m just making it clear that there are lines that should not be crossed. This year, with these excessively violent actions toward freshmen, the whole event had been made sour in my mind.