By Emily Rios

This year a certain tater event at Lowell High has been getting fields of attention.  It’s been coined Potato Day and lauded by the Head of School Mrs. Busteed.

But should this spud event be getting as much publicity as it has been?

We as a community have been dealing with various controversies impacting the high school. New school building conflicts, school building climate problems, inappropriate social media posts, snow days and, yes, even gas days!  Not to mention hallway conduct. Things seem to be improving though.

The most prominent uncertainty this year was school’s heating conditions, which have prompted several parent complaints, delays and school cancellations.

But now the boilers are fixed, Spring is here and, uh, the gas is leaking?  And we thought everyone was out of gas running those laps in the gym.

Well, thank God there are no boiled potatoes on Potato Day!

With these serious matters in mind, it is surprising that the steamed topic of conversation throughout the LHS halls is the delectable Potato Day. Or is it?

And how surprising it all happens in the ‘Murphy’ Cafeteria.  According to Culinarylore.com, ‘Murphy’ is another name for potato.  I guess there’s as many Murphys as potatoes in Ireland.

The topic of this magnitude receives shout outs in the morning announcements over the loudspeakers and captivates the student-body’s attention. However, this comfort food can’t fix all of the issues that this school has.

Never mind the gaseous environment,  there are leaking tunnels, plumbing problems, structural damage, and inconsistent climates–wait, are we still building a new school?

New school or not, the lunch lines only grow longer as everyone flocks to get their most-loved toppings.  The students uninterested in common food options are forced to wait in unrelenting lines just to eat their preferred baked potato.

And how many days of school left?  And how long will the school days be?  Well, at least we have the Potato Day to look forward to, right?

Maybe our New Year’s resolution should have focused more on fixing the school rather than the potato fixins.  But, I’m sure glad every few weeks the sour cream, cheese, peppers and bacon are a flowin all over the Murphy.

Thanks to Potato Days, the toppings ease the pain for both staff and student alike.