This is my last “My Monthly Issue” ever. These past two years have been great to me and I have made a lot of strong relationships with my classmates as well. I have had multiple situations where I have felt as almost the “big brother” figure to them. No, not the 1984 dictatorship against these girls, but a literal older sibling that can stand up for them. I will retell the two situations that allowed me to protect them.

Last year at Journalism Conference, we went to Raising Cane’s per the tradition of the SPUD. We took about eight girls last year to conference and they all ordered their chicken before I did. It was crowded, so everyone went outside once we got our meals. Again, I was the last of the students to go outside. As soon as I left Cane’s, the girls swarmed me. I was told that a man was hitting on them and making them very uncomfortable, so as I came outside, they hid behind me to get away from him. I led them away from him, as any of them could have walked away earlier but didn’t for some reason… This was the first time that I felt as if I had a role in this weird family that I didn’t know I had signed up for.

The second time I felt as if I needed to stand up for or protect one of my classmates was more recent. One of my classmates wrote a story on recent events at the school. The story was not slanderous, as that is something that Mrs. Digmann makes sure of and we are aware that slander is illegal.

She wrote a very well written story, and it tied up all loose ends in the fact that it mentioned how the school was impacted by the events at hand. Posts were made on Facebook in retaliation of her story. Because of this, she felt a little unsafe and was worried about working alone. I assured her that if she needed any help or someone to escort her home, I’d be willing.

This big brother effect has come from the countless hours spent with these girls. As the only guy, I am the one who is responsible for messing with them and annoying them during class, but I am the only one who is allowed to annoy them or mess with them. For some, this is the first time that they have had a brother, for others, they have experienced way worse than what I do in class.

I love this column and I also love all of the girls that I have had in class the past two years. I will miss each and every one of them and miss writing for the SPUD as a column writer.