While one looks around the hallways of Marshfield, he or she will likely see public displays of affection and artist Madelyn Metzler gives her opinion on the “touchy” subject.
As an advocate for love and peace, I encourage my peers to love themselves and each other. Every teen should have the opportunity to have a high school sweetheart and to interact with them during passing periods. However, many teens take their hallway loving too far and make everyday tasks, such as getting to one’s locker, awkward and almost impossible.

Puberty hits teenagers hard, and it is important to understand the confusing and sexually charged feelings that fill them during that time. While some forms of affection might be appropriate to one, they may be entirely different to another. As a senior in high school, I think too often society looks down and chastises public displays of affection (PDA). I have experienced the extreme lovesick and intense feelings of affection, and I can understand why some teens just cannot get their hands off each other. Showing affection is very important in a person’s life, and putting a ban on PDA would do more harm than good. It is a very reasonable and natural thing for a couples to want to show affection to one another in the hallway, so they should be able to do so.

For all the teenagers causing this debate, there should be PDA etiquette; do not block lockers and never form the dreaded hallway blockade, preventing late or hurried students from getting to class quickly. In public school, showing affection to a loved one should never be taken away, but everyone should be mindful of their fellow peers who may not be comfortable around behavior such as PDA. Many PDA offenders are good students and do not realize their actions may cause discomfort amongst other students. Likewise, the students showing PDA are not doing it out of spite to other students. Some students may not be allowed to spend much time with their boyfriend or girlfriend outside of school, compelling them to show affection in the hallways.

So go ahead, sneak a kiss to a boyfriend or girlfriend, but leave the groping and booty smacking for elsewhere. Students come from all walks of life, and seeing this can be very uncomfortable for some. There should be an equal balance for everyone, so every student can be comfortable and happy when they walk the hallways. High school is a time to experience relationships and new things. It is only fair that there is respect amongst the student body when it comes to PDA, as it is a normal human behavior that many of us have done.

Teen love is a wonderful yet terrifying thing. I think we can all agree that we have been there, so it is important to be understanding of the situation. As a society we tend to look down upon the public display of affection, so the next time you see that couple who is constantly playing tonsil hockey directly in front of their locker, they, along with everyone else, should try to understand there is nothing more powerful or shameless than that of a teenage relationship.