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Dogs or cats?


Art by Lily Hoagland

The previous school year was an interesting one, especially for seventh graders. There was a pandemic going on, and online school was in swing. These new students had little to no idea of what to expect for middle school. But the most riveting thing, however, was the feud that split the class in two. Over the course of multiple classes and periods, two major sides arose, with an unanswered question; dogs or cats?


In seventh period history class, the two main sides and leaders developed. The cat side was generally led by Juliet Hays, a seventh grader at the time. The dog side had less of a leader, or the person who contributed the most to the argument. The feud was entirely an argument, and almost everyone seemed to have an opinion. Each Friday or Monday in seventh period history class, most students would arrive ahead of schedule, and while the rest of the class slowly filtered in, almost everyone else argued. All the while, the teacher was playing music in the background, and due to the fact that school had not technically started yet, muted and sat with video hidden. No real progress was gained through the discussion, and no decisions were made on which was better. Each side argued that their position was just better than the other, expanding their opinions with each new day.


The side of the dogs was a little chaotic. With more people siding with this argument, more people would join the conversation, therefore causing some confusion. The side of the cats, on the other hand, seemed more organized. With Juliet stating most of the arguments, and the rest typing in the chat every now and then or unmuting to back their leader up, they weren’t as jumbled. Still, as organized or as unorganized as they seemed, no side seemed capable of convincing the other that their argument was correct. The issue was that each “faction” was biased, and there was nobody to listen to the arguments and decide who the victor was. Both groups firmly believed that their side was better, and because of that, they refused to listen to or think about anything but their own reasoning.

Photo by Louis-Philippe Poitras via Unsplash

Eventually, when the school year was nearing an end and everyone was likely tired of arguing, an agreement of sorts was made. Victor Pack, previously silent and unobtrusive, came up with the perfect accord. The solution was simple; Instead of dogs or cats being better, another animal could be the best. Turtles. It was perfect. With most people tired and annoyed from arguing over the weeks, it was a proposition that put neither side at a loss, and neither at a victory. Why did Victor say turtles though? “Because I have a turtle; I have a pet tortoise,” he said.


With everyone appeased by Victor’s resolution, the school year ended smoothly and on a high note. The class drifted through the rest of the semester, having forgotten about the argument for the time being. Now, with all of the participants eighth graders, the disagreement just sits in the back of everyone’s minds.


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