Supply Debates

A sign on the door reads, “URGENT MATTER OF BUSINESS: subject color debate! Those who lose their debate fail this semester and get ridiculed by the students during SING!.”

The bell rings, and the debate starts immediately…

Computer Science teacher Jessica Novillo begins, “I think blue represents CS the best because it’s a color associated with calm, focus, and productivity. These qualities are important when you’re coding or solving problems. Plus, a lot of tech companies use blue in their logos, which makes the color feel connected to technology.”

The members of the student jury look at one another in disbelief. Calm? And CS? It doesn’t take a five-scoring AP Lang student to pick up on some paradoxical language there. Only the most elite coders recognize that the best work is produced after downing a triple-shot Americano at unholy hours. And if the heart palpitations aren’t tranquil enough for you, to complete this sacred ritual, you have the option of the fabled “all-nighter,” sacrificing your circadian rhythm to the CS gods, scorching your eyes with blue light, and whispering, “This HAS to fix the bug,” like a prayer. But, in Ms. Novillo’s defense, the blue does make sense—a symbol of tears shed from debilitating procrastination guilt. 

“I guess music’s color depends on the pieces. But, I sometimes color-code soprano parts: higher pitches as red colors, altos as orange, tenors as green, [and] basses as blue,” Chorus teacher Liliya Shamazov comments.

The Oratorio students nod in agreement. But as they scribble this down in the margins of their sheet music, tenors and sopranos beef over whether accidentals should be pastel or neon. A new method for music memorization or an excuse to argue over colors instead of practicing? We’ll never know, but reports find that once they employed the strategy, classes that are busy highlighting notes are 60 percent quieter during rehearsal. Perhaps that was Ms. Shamazov’s master plan all along. 

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but English always evokes for me the marble composition books and blue books of my youth…” English teacher Dr. Minkyu Kim says.

The jury shudders at the mention of the blue books, recalling a time when being a couple of badly written O’s away from a three was less of a fable than a horror story passed down from the upperclassmen. In the digital age, however, that fear has evolved further with the arrival of the Bluebook app, which is ready to deduct points with the same indifference, making a 1600 SAT score an urban legend. 

“English is a cozy maroon,” English teacher Kristen Rush disagrees.

There is a long pause as the English teachers start a silent, deadly stare-down. You don’t need to read between the lines to see the tension…

Dr. Kim concedes, “My folders these days are red—the color of the free folders I get from my side gig at St. John’s (go Johnnies).”

The students breathe a sigh of relief. At least the English department could agree on red in some capacity. And no one can argue against free goods in a city where the cost of living can make even name-brand printer paper a luxury. 

“True! And you can’t go wrong with a black-and-white composition book classic! On the other hand, your English notebook or folder should be yellow: it’s cheerful, warm, and welcoming, and the color pops, so you won’t lose it,” Ms. Rush agrees.

What an optimistic take! The jury blinks, a little stunned by the faith this philosophy places in the organizational capacities of a sleep-deprived high schooler. But alas, not even a cheery yellow can save an essay rubric from being pancaked at the bottom of a backpack and forgotten. Perhaps the red of blood draining from the face at the realization of an 11:59 p.m. deadline is a more universal truth. 

Ms. Novillo quickly interjects before the English teachers can get more passionate. “I think a blue folder or notebook works great for CS. You could even mix in green, since it’s a color that’s often linked with concentration and learning,” she comments.

Blue as both the subject color and the notebook shade? The consistency is appreciated. Concentration also seems to be a common theme in Ms. Novillo’s arguments. The students nod appreciatively, unaware that notebook hue is less of a focus-breaker than a crippling social media addiction. The only short circuits they should really be looking out for are the ones that can end their dopamine-chasing cycles. 

“I like black for music folders, and notes should be taken with a pencil or anything erasable,” Ms. Shamazov adds.

Ms. Novillo frowns and says, “I think notes should be taken with a pen because you can’t erase them easily, which encourages students to think before writing. Pen notes also look neater and more readable.”

“Personally, I prefer quick-drying pen. Pencils smudge, and eraser dust is messy,” Dr. Kim agrees.

“I firmly believe that when it comes to keeping your notebook, you do you. But I like to use pen so the words don’t smear, and I am always impressed by students who go back over their notes and use highlighters to stay appealingly organized,” Ms. Rush says.

Suddenly, at the warning bell, Sra. Ambía rushes in, having been caught up in some conjugation chaos in her last class.

“Voy a responder rapidísimo porque ya es tarde. 1. El rojo representaría mejor el español porque los hispanohablantes, desde España hasta las Américas, somos muy apasionados. 2. El color que prefiera el estudiante, ya que debe representar lo que él o ella asocie con el idioma. Pero para mí, sería rojo, aunque en el pasado he escogido colores según el color del libro y a veces según el grupo de estudiantes. Para el segundo año, verde, ya que son inmaduros, jajaja. 3. Lo ideal sería tomar apuntes de español con una pluma (como las que usaban los colonos al llegar al Nuevo Mundo),” dice la Sra. Ambía, much to the other teachers’ confusion.

Silence reigns as the non-Spanish-speaking teachers dive for their phones to Google Translate the speech.

View of a phone displaying:

I’m going to answer very quickly because it's already late. 1. Red would best represent Spanish because Spanish speakers, from Spain to the Americas, are very passionate. 2. The color the student prefers, since it should represent what he or she associates with the language. But, for me, it would be red, although in the past I’ve chosen colors based on the color of the book and sometimes based on the group of students. For the second year, green, since they’re immature, haha. 3. Ideally, we would take notes in Spanish with a quill pen (like the ones the colonists used when they arrived in the New World).

Before anyone can process the quill requirement, the 3:35 PM bell rings. Meeting over. No consensus was reached. Students are advised to show up with a blue pen, a pencil (except in math class), a highlighter, a quill, and a folder in every color of the rainbow.