Two innocent sophomores are spotted giving each other a goodbye kiss as they depart on their voyage across the hall and into their separate classrooms. Sound awkward? Well, public displays of affection (otherwise known as PDA) are something that members of  SHS are now coming into contact with everyday at school. Whether it’s a snuggle session before homeroom, a farewell kiss as they part ways (only to be reunited again in 63 minutes), or holding each others hands as they venture off from a long school day, many lovebirds at SHS are now partaking in some form of PDA.

      If you’re not one of the PDA-ers, then you have surely (by choice or not) witnessed some form of it as a student or staff member. This brings about the question, how much is too much?

    Though one can see couples making out against their lockers in any movie or TV show depiction of high-school life, it is only recently that SHS has been bringing this stereotype to life. In the past couple of years, the amount of PDA present at SHS has become increasingly noticeable.

    When it comes to how people feel regarding PDA, there seems to be significant amount of students who would rather not see it in school. Senior Hugh Byrne said, “I don’t think it should be allowed in school and people should wait until after school. It can make people feel uncomfortable and awkward”. Although it may be hard to hide the passion between you and your special friend, there is a place and time for PDA, and that place is not SHS and that time is not between 7:18 a.m and 1:51 p.m.

     Junior Tiger Kelley said “It’s embarrassing for the people doing it.” It simply comes down to a matter of the extent of the PDA. In fact, many of the actions that are categorized under the term PDA are often harmless. If one was to see it outside of school it probably wouldn’t even catch their attention.

     Numerous teachers and staff members are present in the hallways in between passing time,  which exposes them to the PDA first hand. But  is it a teachers place to tell a student to stop? Health teacher Ms. Dwyer said, “I don’t know to how to respond to it. The teacher may feel uncomfortable but they don’t want to make the students feel uncomfortable too”.

    There is a place and a time for everything, especially PDA. Though it is often a harmless act, in a school setting it can make others feel awkward. So next time you find yourself feeling the urge to show affection to your special someone,  just take your surroundings into consideration. Overall, it’s just a “touchy” subject.