Mr. White: This Week

Well, since there hasn't been much news to report recently, and seeing as Mr. White was very active amongst the students today, I felt obligated to write something about our favorite principal. His and our schedules first collided at the assemblies, wherein he seemed determined to make a few changes to the theme. It was no longer a choral cavalcade, but more an exhibition of menacing glares, ominous pacing throughout the auditorium and belligerency. He was very thorough in his proceedings; it seemed as though he was always a step ahead of every text message, cat-caller and rowdy spectator. Unfortunately, he was also a step ahead of quite a few of the performers on account of his antics, genuinely conceived though they might have been. In the end, one could make the argument that his presence did more harm than good to the overall flow and good-naturedness of the assembly.

Later in the day, during sixth period, our paths crossed again. I glanced out the window of the portable I was in and saw him outside reprimanding a student. I saw Mr. White doing something he very commonly does in a place at which he very uncommonly does it. I had never seen him outside, let alone far off in the portables, and for that reason alone do I find it newsworthy (relatively speaking, of course). It reminded me of a Roman Emperor visiting the far off reaches of Gaul or Britannica, the autonomy of the empire, to see how things are going.

On an unrelated note, I've been reading "1984" recently, and noticed a phrase that kept coming up: "the hope lies in the proles." I don't wish to uphold the connection between Mr. White and Big Brother, which lots of people keep making, jokingly or otherwise, and with which I do not agree. I just thought the proletariat of the school - the students - might take comfort in the fact that George Orwell, the conscience of his generation, holds sympathy for you.