Stumbling into Middletown High School as the harsh rain pours down with great force, students rush up the cracked steps leading up to the school and head inside. As they make their way inside, they take a slight glance up at the ceiling. They are horrified at what they see, as they notice the cracks, stains, and holes all around. They know that something must be done to the ceiling and fast.
Middletown High School has been around since 1974 and since then has had renovations made in 1999. The condition of the ceiling seems to have been the least of their concerns.
If the ceiling was worked on at all, it was not done well. Students have probably not even noticed the ceiling tiles before, and if they have, they didn’t find them in a good way.
“I found out my freshman year in PE class playing kickball when the ball would hit the ceiling and the ceiling tiles would almost fall to the floor,” said MHS senior Joe McIntosh.
I saw them when I was really bored in algebra class and just stared at the ceiling for ten minutes, said MHS junior Connor Sheedy.
The ceiling tiles are in complete disrepair. There are stains clearly made from leaks and random holes around, which don’t make the school look as professional as it should.
“They’re cracks in them, there’s mildew everywhere and stains,” said MHS freshman Danny Long.
As said previously, renovations were made in 1999, but students believe renovations should be made again. These repairs have to focus on the ceiling and front steps, but mostly the ceiling.
The front steps have started to get renewals, however the ceiling is not as fortunate. Students want them to be revamped as soon as possible.
“They will hopefully fix them next semester,” said McIntosh.
“They will be fixed hopefully within the next two years or so,” said MHS sophomore Claire Humble.
There are many people who contemplate how the ceiling got the way it is. One way is the old leakage problems the school had. Students may have many diverse opinions on how they got the way they are now.
“They are very old,” said McIntosh.
“It’s a bad roof, maybe rain leaking through, old age, and probably rodents and insects,” said Long.
They look like they were worn down from rain damage, said Humble.
The school’s ceiling disorder is bad all around the school and gives the impression of unprofessionalism. If they are replaced, it might be a decent thing to do for the school.
“The ceiling doesn’t make you want to look up,” said Long.
“If they got rid of them, the school would feel nicer and look cleaner than having the tiles in the ceiling,” said McIntosh.
The ceiling tiles don’t only have an impact on the school, but they also have a huge one on the middle school students who will be moving on up to the high school next year. Their impression on the school will be affected significantly if they notice them.
“The first thing they will notice is the terrible ceiling,” said McIntosh.
I’m afraid the ceiling is going to fall on my head considering how old they are, so I hope next year the ceiling will be partially different and a little more advanced so I don’t have the fear of them falling on my head, said Middletown Middle School student Kiley Hill.
Students might not have even ever thought about the ceiling before. If they didn’t, it’s a shock that they haven’t.
The material used now is not well suited for leakage, which is one of the reasons they got the few bad conditions they have now: the old look, the rotten colors, and all of the holes and cracks scattered in the ceiling. If another material is used, it would possibly be restored and they won’t turn a rotten yellow and brown color.
They could replace it with plywood and paint them, and maybe add new ceiling lights, said Long.
The ongoing question is whether the ceiling is worth repairing. As said before, they affect the middle school students’ opinion on the school once they move on up to the high school. They make the school look unpleasant, but they could still be worth repairing. The repairs could make the school look better than it has before.
“Soon enough these cracks will get worse and the ceiling will start falling down,” said Long.
It would give us an inner meaning to life that will guide us through the course of high school, said Sheedy.
When and if the ceiling gets repaired, the school will look fresh and again, better than it has looked before. The ceiling will look glossy and pristine, and MHS will once again look like the school that everyone wishes to go to.
