By Grace George ’17

Does it bother you that people show unnecessary PDA (Public Displays of Affection, for the uninitiated) in school? We’ve all seen it. We’ve all walked past it. We’ve held back our bile as we see it. We avoid it like the plague yet some of the unlucky ones bump into it. It’s gross. It’s unnecessary. It’s uncomfortable.

I’m not talking about a little shoulder punch here and there or a quick hug after waiting for each other outside of class. You all know the couples that walk everywhere together, holding hands and staring dreamily into one another’s eyes as the whole science wing looks on in agony. Some go further than hand holding and full-body hug as they make their way through the halls. And some, my personal favorites, sneak in little kisses before they depart from each other for an entire 55 minute period.

Now, I’m not opposed to relationships, or loving embraces for that matter, but there is something that gets under my skin about the PDA in school. Seeing boyfriends and girlfriends get all more-than-friendly doesn’t necessarily anger me, but it does make me feel severely uncomfortable.

As I accumulate a heavy pile of secondhand embarrassment when seeing these couples, questions ricochet throughout my mind. Does the thought of teachers looking on as you grope your girlfriend in the halls not cross your mind as strange? Don’t you think about how many people are watching you do this? This school is riddled with cameras; the principal could be watching you go at it at any point in time! Don’t you care?!

It’s amazing that some people do not care in the slightest that every day they cause awkwardness in the halls and direct attention to themselves with their inappropriate expressions. All of their peers and teachers disapprove, yet they don’t seem to mind at all.

Maybe it’s because they’re really in love. Maybe I should embrace their union and rejoice in the love and happiness that they generate. Or maybe it’s just their hormones acting up and they can’t help it.

Whichever it is, I say embrace your significant other as often and as intimately as you would like at school if that’s what really brings you happiness. Just don’t mind if I avert my eyes and mutter passive-aggressive comments under my breath as I walk by.