Fuzzy Consent 

With the two year hiatus from convention, our first convention back had issues. One of them being the administration’s opinion on fuzzying. Fuzzying, a tradition of dressing up students who lack school spirit, is most commonly seen at events such as conventions. 

At convention there are jobs that are filled by seniors including security guards and fuzzyiers. Security guards bring students from their chairs to the fuzzy room. Fuzziers are in charge of dressing up the students. 

This year the administration had a problem with the fuzzying. Around a quarter way through convention they made the fuzziers prop the door open due to “safety concerns” and asked the student fuzziers to create a Google Form to ask for students’ consent to be fuzzied. These two actions were not based on complaints from students, but instead from administration’s concerns for safety. Propping the door open during convention ruined the black light setup that students spent hours creating. The google form idea to be shown to every student was impractical since not every student would fill it out and security would have to coordinate what student to pick in the dark when they aren’t knowledgeable of who they are. If the administration was worried about these issues, they should have communicated this with the Leadership class instead of expecting the students to adapt to something that has never been done before.

The administration’s main concern was that of consent, which is completely warranted; however, it was not an issue with the students and the Google Form seemed unnecessary. Security guards always ask if students are okay with being fuzzyed, and this is re-asked when students enter the fuzzy room. Most security guards would only bring friends, siblings, and teammates to the fuzzy room, which may have been misinterpreted by the administration because it looked like horseplay. 

Instead of a Google Form, we compromised on a signature form from students. This paper was virtually useless due to the number of students who slipped through without signing, and the paper not needing to be turned in at the end. Not only this but students would have to stop and sign, breaking the nervous anticipation of getting fuzzied. 

Like every issue at SVHS, it is imperative to get the opinion of the students. Junior Leeanna Tommasi believes that “…when you sign up for a Convention, you are signing up to be fuzzied.” Leadership argues that students were made aware of fuzzying before convention.

Halfway through convention, one of the vice principals, Mrs. Apkarian asked the fuzziers to create a QR code so that students getting fuzzied could check in and consent.  However, this was confusing for most.

Some students suggested that the bodyguards should not touch the people they are bringing to the fuzzy room. Junior Marley Sutter brought up the idea that “…maybe the bodyguards should not pick up people.”

As for next year, the rules around fuzzying and bodyguards are still up in the air, but hopefully the administration can find a balanced mix between tradition and comfort for all students and establish clear protocols before convention.