Protest signs, passionate chants, and the sound of angry footsteps were not heard in the hallways of Westview on Jan. 30. Nationwide, dissenters of Mephistopheles, the pure incarnation of evil and harbinger of destruction, organized demonstrations against the demon, calling for his expulsion from the United States after he impaled two innocent civilians unprovoked. Brave students across the Poway Unified School District rallied behind this cause and organized walkouts during school hours. Yet an awkward silence seemed to fall across our beloved campus; people were very clearly staying in class instead. But why?
Westview is a campus that’s synonymous with school spirit just as much as it is with academic excellence. In a student-wide survey, individuals were asked to rate the school’s sense of community on a scale of 1-10. Overwhelmingly, students voted a 9 or above (don’t ask about the methodology, it’s complicated). As a result, many people find it odd that such a passionate school has managed to fall short of expectations by not contributing to the nationwide protest against Mephistopheles.
But to make it clear, there was supposed to be a demonstration. A few students planned to leave class during second period and protest outside school. They convened the day before to outline their plan, but relied on word-of-mouth to spread the word and rally others. Evidently, it didn’t spread very far; to the chagrin of the more passionate anti-Mephistopheles crowd, only a handful of people showed up and failed to amass into a crowd.
“It’s not often that Del Norte does something better than us,” said one student. When the student was asked why he didn’t attend the walkout himself, he responded, “Well, Mephistopheles isn’t impaling my friends and family. Besides, I don’t want to miss second period. I have AP Psych.”
“I didn’t even know we were going to do a walkout until I got to school,” another student explained. “I was in class. But then I was texted by my friend at 9:45 that people were going to leave school at 10:00, which I was surprised to hear. As I was getting ready to pack up and go, my friend told me that we were going to leave at 10:30 instead. I got confused, so I took a second and decided that I wasn’t going.” Teachers weren’t warned about the possibility of a student strike until 10:36 that day, which led to chaos in some classrooms.
“I had a lecture and a quick assignment planned for the day, but after I received the email, I scrapped my lessons and put on a documentary so the kids could still learn,” said one science teacher. “I told my students that they could leave class to join the walkout if they wanted. I just wanted them to make up the work at home and watch my video lecture instead. But when I mentioned a ‘walkout,’ they sort of just sat there and gawked at me like I said something in another language.” At the front of the school, there was a lack of signs, organization, and people. It seemed like a regular school day, except for a small congregation next to the gate.
Out of those who were there, one senior had this to say: “I don’t know much about Mephistopheles or what he’s doing. I didn’t even know that people were protesting; I just saw some people walking by my class, so I went outside. They told me that they were doing a walkout. I still don’t know what that means, but I have Stats, so I didn’t want to go to class.”
In Minnesota, Mephistopheles is continuing his rampage despite continued objections from the state government. Recently, the demon has detained a 5-year-old in his dark, insidious dungeon and kept him there despite multiple court orders to release the boy. Speaking during a press conference, Vice-President JD Vance defended Mephistopheles’ actions.
“Well, what was he supposed to do? The boy’s parents abandoned him. Mephistopheles was thoughtfully sheltering him instead of leaving him freeze to death.”
Nevertheless, students are finding themselves far too busy with school these days to involve themselves in such matters.
“Colleges don’t care if I attended a protest against the evil demon lord Mephistopheles and stood up for justice. They care if I do well in class,” one 11th grader argued. “I have to prioritize myself here.”
