We interviewed people around the school about unpopular opinions they have and these were some of their responses.

• Social media is overrated.

Beauty standards, values and patience among society have been affected because of standards set by social media; people are expected to look and be a certain way. All the time spent scrolling through social media has led to a generation bound for mental health issues.

“You end up comparing yourself to other people,” freshman Leo Bartolo said. “You just keep scrolling, it’s demoralizing, because actual experiences you have in real life feel like nothing when you compare it to other people’s lives, that they so portray, in which might not even be real.”

Attention spans are shortened through quick content posted all over social media.

“If you’re just scrolling through social media for hours on end, you just see it and go,” Bartolo said. “You don’t take too much time to appreciate what happened. Everything is so fast now, if it doesn’t catch your attention in two seconds you just scroll through it. You have to wait; good things don’t come fast.”

• Mustard is the best condiment.

The enjoyment of mustard is an acquired taste since some people don’t typically enjoy sour flavors. It tastes uniquely good, by helping bring out the flavors of all sorts of food.  The taste of mustard makes food delicious, but for some people it doesn’t sit right.  

Junior Wynter McCracken shared how whenever she hangs out with friends they often judge or criticize her for eating mustard, discouraging her enjoyment of the condiment. In response, sometimes she’ll just use a more common condiment to spare herself from those interactions. However, McCracken thinks people should be more understanding of differing tastes rather than judging.

“[People] should see where their perspective is and what they think,” McCracken said. “If you don’t agree with that then don’t say anything but if you can, come to a common ground and see why they like that or why they do that stuff.”

Despite people’s negative feelings towards mustard, McCraken continues to stand by her taste.

“People should try mustard,” McCracken said. “Give it a shot.”

• Students should have a second lunch.

There are many people who don’t touch their food at lunch. They go through the line, then either don’t touch their food, throw it away or they give it to someone else. 

“We should have a second lunch,” freshman Clay Bowers said. “There’s kids that would like more lunch because there’s kids that ask for juices and stuff or they ask for other kids’ food. Instead of that kid getting that other kids’ food, we should just ask to get another tray of food. Then it’ll actually be a good process where the kids who waste their food could have an area, where rather than getting food and wasting it, they can make a profit where they put the food they didn’t touch at all. They could just give it back to the lunch people.”

Bowers is a well-nourished kid who after eating school lunch, often ends up still hungry because of the small portions.  

“I’m the type of kid that would want a second lunch because I’ll still be hungry after one lunch tray and because sometimes the lunches are pretty small. Sometimes we need more lunches and then it’s just the topic of kids wasting lunch food, it’s horrible.” 

• Rich people shouldn’t be allowed to shop at thrift stores.

Inflation has increased the cost of basic living. Poor or low income people find it hard to afford necessities such as clothing. It hasn’t been easy to find any clothes for cheap due to the fact that there are wealthy people who go to thrift stores to find and resell clothes for a much higher price.

“I understand they’re trying to make a profit and everything, but if you have the money and you’re able to buy new clothes they should,” junior Kloe Gaskey said. “I feel like people should be more wise about why there are thrift stores and why there’s discount stores because you could go to a thrift store and find a microwave for like 10 bucks. People could have hot food, a lot of people don’t have access to hot food all the time.”

Having experienced the struggle of affording basic life necessities, Gaskey disagrees with the tendency of some high income people to resell thrifted clothing. This is because people take advantage of those low-priced clothes to make more money where others just look for whatever they can get their hands on. 

“Get a job,” Gaskey said. “You could work retail, fast food, start your own business regardless of selling clothes other people need. There’s so many things you could do like lower income people have jobs and they try. They’ve probably tried to get an education, but they probably just didn’t have the money. In this world everything involves money. Sadly, you just can’t have anything for free.” 

• Girls should be allowed to join the football team.

 Girls are stereotyped as soft or weak, yet there are many girls who are just as tough, just as good, if not better than some guys. A number of girls want to try out for football, however, they’re turned down because they’re female. Sophomore Alaina Rivera asked to try out for the football team in middle school and was turned down, having been deferred to try out for the flag football team. 

“My experience was pretty annoying,” Rivera said. “They kept on avoiding the fact, they were basically telling me no by saying there isn’t a team for my grade. And that’s what got me to wonder, why don’t we have one but the boys do? I think they don’t let girls join because they are girls, they haven’t let a female even tryout,” Rivera said. “We just play girl on girl, which is not a bad thing, but if you’re a freshman or sophomore girl you have to wait and that’s not fair when they have a freshman boy team. There is no excuse or real reason it’s just because we are girls and not boys.”

A player is a player, if they’re good it shouldn’t matter their gender, just the fact that they have something to offer the team.

“There are girls who are just as good at football as boys, and I have seen it at other schools, so I know they can fit into the team or even make it,” Rivera said. “I wish they would be more open, or open to it at all.”

• American football should be called “handball.”

Picturing football, there are players running around chasing a ball, trying to make it in the goal. They run around tackling each other and throwing the ball wherever it’s open. However, people who aren’t from the United States know “football” as “soccer.” The reason soccer is called football- literally everywhere but the United States, is because it is played on the basis of only using the players feet. The only person who is allowed to use their hands is the goalie. Yet, Americans call it “soccer” and American football, “football.”

Junior Prevail Hensel came to the United States from Germany, and while trying to become involved, the opinion that football should be called “handball” surfaced. When she shares her opinion she receives some criticism.

“Everybody plays, everybody knows about soccer, but American football is only here,” Hensel said. “So that’s how I feel about that and people are always like, ‘Oh, but American football earns more than soccer.’ No, actually, if you want to talk about soccer and American football, people just don’t support the fact that football is overrated and stuff. But, one thing I don’t really get bashed about is the fact that it should be called handball. People actually agree with me because they use their hands most of the time. So yeah, I don’t get bashed about that. But the thought of it being overrated. I get bashed about that a couple of times.”