Almost every morning you wake up, get ready, and go to school. It’s the routine of the school year. Whether you get dropped off by your bus driver, parent, sibling, or senior friend who drives you in, you likely pool with your friends in front of the wall across from attendance.

Little did you know, you’re probably damaging the Military Wall Of Honor.

The Military Wall Of Honor was thought up and suggested by Mrs. LaBrake in 2008. The idea quickly gained consensus from a small committee of alumni and planning and preparation began. By 2013, The Military Wall Of Honor was established.

In order to get onto the wall, you can nominate a loved one or yourself, if you choose to go into the U.S. Military following graduation. The price to apply is ten dollars. Five dollars goes toward purchasing a star and engraving it to go on the wall. The other five is put into the Military Scholarship — a scholarship fund for less fortunate students of that year’s senior class. You can also donate to the Military Wall Fund to pay for alumni who aren’t able to afford a star. Any leftover money from this donation will also be put into the Military Scholarship.

Over the years, the location of breakfast carts have remained close to the cafeteria. Thus, so do a number of students waiting for first period to begin. Some pool in front of the military wall, and zippers or flaps from backpacks catch on to the stars or frame of the wall and cause damage. You may not be leaning on the wall but if your backpack is making contact with it, you could be damaging the wall. Not only that, but purposefully picking at the stars on the wall is vandalism and extremely disrespectful to all the veterans memorialized on the wall.

So far, Mrs. LaBrake has replaced over 30 stars, due to students damaging the wall. In fact, the frame of the wall was severely damaged the day of the induction ceremony for the wall this year. A significant chunk of the frame was missing, all because of backpacks.

In short, the potted plants are there for a reason. If you or anyone you know in the building has possibly damaged the wall, take this information into consideration next time you decide to group up in front of it. And if you’re someone who likes to peel the stars off the wall, put your last name, first name, and first period teacher in the comments. This way, The Panther Eye can deliver you a brand new 200+ page sticker book of your choice.

Joey Bastian

Joey is a striving musician as well as a journalist. His main focus is on the breaking down of popular albums and the in-depth analysis that it can offer. Check out his complete breakdown series of articles.