Without regulation, posters on the walls of Camas High School would be anarchy. That’s why it was interesting to notice a few joke signs on the walls last week, only for them to promptly disappear the next day. That lead to a number of questions, first of which was: “what is the process of getting a sign on CHS walls?” It falls to the Associated Student Body (ASB) to manage wall signs at CHS.

There is an approval process that all posters must go through before reaching the eyes of students in the halls. According to Associate Principal and Head of ASB Mr. Tim Fox, “all posters, signs, flyers, they come in here (his office) first. We look at them, make sure they get stamped”. Going into a bit more detail on the process he states: “all the clubs and organizations have advisors, so the first layer is the advisor. Typically the advisor would then say: okay, go to Mr. Fox for approval– So that’s really the only process. We try to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible.”

Unapproved signs (those without an ASB stamp) are not allowed in the halls, and ASB students, as well as other staff, are on the lookout. These

signs will be removed from the walls. Fox states: “Some of the things that we see that don’t get stamped– we pull them down. Some things we allow to not get stamped, but I know what they are… As I walk around the school I look for those things, as does security and other staff members. We really try to get on top of the messages that are being put out there, making sure they not only fit within school and district policy– but also laws. There are certain things we just can’t put up. For example, we can’t promote religious things… Even though we do have religious clubs on campus, we do talk to them about those things– like hey, you can promote your club, but you can’t promote your club over something else.” The school is not allowed to show preference to any specific belief or political stance.

For some, like the student behind the “Birds Aren’t Real” signs, the approval, or lack thereof, doesn’t stop them. While it’s hard to determine how ironic or genuine the statement the student provided is, they did state: “I believe in this cause (birds aren’t real), it’s important that everyone knows the truth”. When asked what they thought of joke signs in the halls they stated: “I don’t think this is a joke, this is all real… But if this were a joke, this would be important to show how, kind of– ironic other movements are, like flat earth, those type of things.” In response to ASB approval for signs they state: “I think it’s a dumb rule, but I understand why it exists.”

For individuals who have hopes of broadcasting their message via wall signs, there is bad news. Only clubs, sports, and other specific organizations (senior night for example) are allowed to send signs in for processing. The best way for those who really want to share their posters is to form a club and get approval through that.

Posters at CHS are one of the primary ways to share messages to the student body, so the regulations and processes that keep them in check are important. The removal of unapproved signs and the checks for out of date signs are just a refinement and continuation of those processes.

There was also a curious case, a Macbeth Poster located incredibly high up near the art fixture at the main entrance. When asked how or why it ended up there, Fox responded, “Secret… yeah, let’s leave it at that– Let’s keep the intrigue.”