There’s a new pandemic sweeping America, and its name is love; like a disease, it runs rampant in the hallways, but a mask can’t stop this outbreak. 

Love showcased in the form of kissing, not just kissing — making out. Tongue included. It is being spread through high schools all across America. One school that has fallen victim to this never ending sickness is Emmaus High School. 

Everyone has an opinion on this foul illness, from freshman, to seniors, to even teachers. 

Freshman Lila Schneider believes that, as long as it is not a recurring situation, making out should not be a punishable act.

“It depends on the students,” Schneider said. “If the kid has never had any disciplinary action before and this is a first offense, then no punishment, but if it is repetitive, then action should be taken.” 

Schneider thinks that the punishment for returning events should be a detention or something similar.

Sophomore Emma Irizarry disagrees with students being allowed to kiss or makeout at school.

“Absolutely not,” Irizarry said. “That’s nasty.” 

Irizarry also expressed concerns about germs being spread through the school– especially during our current situation, this needs to be taken into consideration. 

According to BioMed Central, “As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10-second kiss …”

The amount of bacteria spread, combined with the amount of time a kiss takes, can be a serious problem in the current day and age. 

“… an average kiss lasts more than 12 seconds,” noted by DW. That is at least 12 seconds that students have their masks off, which raises concern for the safety of other students. 

Junior Matthew Witmer also has some opinions on the current kiss crisis happening at Emmaus. 

“If you choose to do that, you choose to do that,” Witmer said. 

He believes that students should not be reprimanded for making out on school grounds. 

Senior Olivia Waldron agrees with Witmer– as long as the students keep the making out to themselves and don’t overdo it in the hallway.

“If they’re going to do it, don’t be gross about it,” Waldron said. 

John Gallagher, a world studies, humanities, and government teacher, believes making out to be a “personal behavior”, and students should save that for after school.

As a teacher, Gallagher wishes students would “go to class” instead of making out in the hallways.

Students see makeout sessions happening all over the school. Some of the most common places are the locker commons, hallways, bathrooms, courtyards, and the “aquarium.” These meetings occur at any time during the day– before school, between classes, during lunches, after school, or even right in the middle of class. 

Twelve Emmaus High School students and staff were asked to rank five locations on campus, number one being the best or most secretive location to makeout, and number five being the worst or most public place to make out. 

The five locations in question were the pink photography bathroom, the locker commons, under the multimedia room stairs, the gender-neutral bathroom, and the blackbox theater. 

The results of this ranking are (from number one to number five): the blackbox theater, the “pink” bathroom, the gender neutral bathroom, under the multimedia room stairs, and the locker commons. 

Most students can’t go one day without seeing fellow classmates playing “tonsil hockey” in the hallway. They have all formed their own reaction when they see this going down in school. 

Sophomore T.J. Seislove’s reaction is, “That’s nice. *keeps walking*.” 

Other students, for example, freshman Matthew McCambridge is very shocked and surprised when he passes a couple going at it in the hallway. 

Senior Sadie Dallas feels “gross and upset” because “they’re blocking the hallway.”

Hannah Kern, a freshman, is “weirded out” when a couple “sucking face” is blocking her path. 

When Emmaus High School students and staff were asked how many individual people make out on a daily basis on campus, the answers ranged from too small to count to 74 students a day. 

Making out, playing “tonsil hockey,” sucking face, or whatever it is called, has completely taken over the students of Emmaus High School. This “disease“ will not and can not be stopped by a simple face covering or rules disapproving of it. 

Students will continue to makeout on campus during school hours whether the other students like it or not. Just maybe the amount of student makeout sessions will decrease due to their hiding spots being exposed to the public. This could overall solve the problem or encourage students to become more secretive with their favorite makeout spots.