New year, old tradition: Marietta High School seniors blanket campus in TP

MARIETTA — A senior class tradition continued as Marietta High School students, returning to campus Wednesday for the first day of school, found it blanketed in a blizzard of toilet paper.

The senior class covered nearly every square inch of the property in toilet paper, from the trees in the parking lot to the tops of the columns at the entrance streamed with white. Stray strands and excess rolls filled the parking lot, showing remnants of the rolling that happened Tuesday night.

“It’s been a big tradition for years now, and it’s something we really wanted to do going into senior year,” said senior Ben Parrott, one of the rolling organizers. “I think we kind of wanted to do it better than any of the other grades, and I think we did a great job.”

Students were creative with their approach, with some attaching paint rollers to leaf blowers in order to propel the toilet paper to higher locations.

The event kicked off the final year of high school for the seniors, with some students feeling the reality of next steps setting in.

“It’s a big realization that you’re about to graduate,” Parrott said. “You see all these seniors doing it as you grow up, and now you’re doing it yourself; it’s awesome.”

Those seniors who attended Tuesday night were allotted four hours on the school’s campus, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. to spread as much toilet paper as possible. While the fun of a senior prank helps unite everyone on the first day of school, those involved were told they need to help clean the campus up before Friday, according to Kerry Minervini, chair of the Marietta school board.

Minervini, the mother of a senior at Marietta High School, echoed the importance of the tradition and the outreach it has beyond the MHS campus.

“I know a large portion of our Marietta community really appreciates and enjoys seeing it on the first day of school every year,” she said.

While the rolling is a yearly tradition, staff only started supervising it within the last six years, with faculty monitoring and assisting with cleanup, according to assistant principal Lucena Ross.

Ross noticed the excitement among the seniors as they took their turn rolling the school. She also noticed the excitement of the alumni and faculty observing.

“There’s pride in that community,” Ross said. “I’ve talked to many teachers who have graduated from Marietta about how it has evolved. They love seeing it happening.”

Rolling the school also creates an exciting environment for visitors who show up without knowing what took place the evening prior.

“I have a child that comes here with me, and when he sees everything, his eyes light up,” said Ross. “It brings a sense of excitement about coming to school on the first day.”