Hazed and Confused

By Georgia White

While the seniors were away on Senior Sneak, the rest of the students got a vacation of their own. On September 18-20 school was canceled due to unhealthy levels of pollution in the air.

The week began with relatively low AQI (Air Quality Index) readings, but on Wednesday, September 18, the readings shot up to the mid 200s and went as high as the 300s. This level of pollution is considered extremely unhealthy and school policy, as well as the Ministry of Education in Malaysia, required that school be canceled. The following two days the readings fluctuated between the high hundreds and 200s, meaning there was only one day of school for students that week.

This haze is pollution coming from the annual fires in Indonesia. These fires are an essential part of their slash-and-burn agriculture. Normally these fires would create a smaller amount of air pollution, but due to the lack of rain and an excessive amount of burning, the haze has affected all of Malaysia much more than normal.

Whether this event was a blessing or a curse for faculty and students at school is arguable. Some may say that the haze day homework was harder than going to school would have been, but others may focus on getting to sleep in. Some were saddened by the loss of socialization with friends while others were joyed by a day of relaxation in their own homes.

Julia Williams (7) seemed to enjoy the haze days saying, “It was as positive as it could have been and was not that stressful.” However, her friend Sophia Tan (7) had a very different opinion, “...the first day was all fine and dandy, but all the days after that were just plain stressful… I think of the haze day as a negative experience.” Tan and Willams had very similar levels of haze day work, but each girl had a very different reaction to the work.

The haze days had positive and negative effects on teachers and students, but most will agree with Tan that “[We] hope the haze won’t be as bad from now on.”