Whether it is by tacking silly pictures of friends or candy on lockers, Harrisites have always looked forward to decorating lockers. Despite being physically separated, students were still given a chance to experience this tradition. This year, the Student Union (SU) organized a back to school virtual locker decorating giveaway, providing all students an opportunity to showcase their creativity and win a $25 Amazon gift card.
“By having virtual lockers, both returning students and incoming students are able to scroll through the presentation and connect with each other through shared interests, hobbies, styles, or even jokes!” Senior Class President Katie Hsu said. She mentioned the SU’s initiative to provide a sense of community, despite being in remote learning. “It sometimes feels like we aren’t a school but rather a group of faces on a screen,” she said. Therefore, the SU decided to “bring an aspect of the school to the students.”
Junior Chayti Biswas said, “It was exciting because I got to express myself through pictures and details…It was so interesting to see other students’ lockers, I felt that I got to know them [and] see them reveal themselves more.”
Sophomore Diana Azizova, who had never gotten the chance to decorate her locker in the past, agreed. “It was such an innovative and great experience,” Diana said. “I discovered a variety of technological features and had a fun time portraying stuff/objects I was interested in.”
Some students usually don’t have the time or supplies to decorate their lockers, but virtual locker decorating made the experience far more accessible. Junior Eunice Lee, one of the competition’s winners, believed virtual locker decorating allowed her to showcase her creativity. Freshman winner Emely Fernandez said, “I never had a locker before in middle school or elementary school, so I really wanted to personalize my very first one.” While Emely was disappointed that she couldn’t decorate her first locker in person, “decorating [her] virtual locker was entertaining and still allowed [her] to express herself.”
For many students, locker decorating is an important part of the high school experience. “We’re all a little disappointed that we can’t have the in school experience, but I’m glad that the school was able to recreate some part of it in a unique way,” senior Daniel Sun concluded.
Image courtesy of Townsend Harris Student Union
