The recent mold dilemma at Westhill continues to cause strife for Westhill’s student body and faculty. Students are greatly concerned with their first semester grades, considering some have had substitute teachers for over two months, and teachers have gotten sick from long term exposure to mold. Tensions are running high, and students are taking it out in different ways.
A group of students has made an Instagram account under the moniker @whs.mold, where students can view and send in memes making light of the situation.
“I think the account is hilarious and we should be allowed to say whatever we want about the issue. It’s our school, we have to stay in it just like the teachers, yet I’ve had a substitute in English for about a month. The whole mold issue isn’t benefiting anyone, but the meme account definitely portrays the comedic side of the situation,” Jahdavid James (’19) said.
The memes have included jokes about the mold task force and Superintendent Kim. However, the main target of the account has been Principal Rinaldi, as students believe he is the one ignoring the issue.
“I find it comedic but it’s also deliberately rude to the faculty, including Rinaldi. The person running the account could protest the mold without being careless about the faculty’s reputation. I believe our principal should be trying to get involved, or as a student body we take the high road on the mold issue,” Gabby Lovishuk (’19) said.
Although it is his responsibility to overlook the whole school, he is limited in what he can do about the building itself, and the problem has existed since long before Rinaldi was involved. This dilemma goes way beyond Rinaldi’s control, and teachers and students are suffering just the same.
“I can see why the issue has become controversial. The account is directly disrespectful towards the teachers and Rinaldi, and it is not as if Rinaldi asked for any of this to happen. He has to deal with the mold, on top of the fact that so many students and teachers are leaving school because of it. The account should be taken down in order to avoid any further tension between us and the school,” Christian Frattaroli (’19) said.
The account has no justification to continue to pursue posting hurtful jokes about our faculty on social media. Not only can our students see the account, but everyone that currently has an account on Instagram can view the posts. Social media does not need to the place where our school’s private internal issue creates creating a larger divide between students and staff.
All in all, the account should be taken down in order to restore the proper balance in our Westhill community.
