A revolution is upon us. There is a strange force driving students in this school. It came, it saw, it conquered. It spread through the school like the Black Death. It is -----THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE.

"I’ve seen it. In Theatre Arts a lot of people do it. It’s not big with sophomores, from what I know, it’s only seniors," said Owen Gray. A stranger visiting George Mason will find students scurrying down the hallways, heads bent over Crossword puzzles torn from the Washington Post’s Style section, paying little attention to anything else. The puzzles seem to lure students in, preoccupying their minds with thoughts of, "What’s 22 down? And darnit, if I could only get 14 across." But where did this compulsive past time originate? Which measly little subhuman is responsible for bringing this addiction to George Mason?

In attempt to find the root of this fad, I have been doing a significant amount of detective work, and have found that students have many different opinions about where the fad originated. Most tend to verbalize their opinions in such a way that they incite a heated debate with their fellow classmates, making it very difficult for a journalist like myself to take down adequate and sensible notes. Luckily, however, I was able to catch a few words.

"I’ve known the crossword thing since eighth grade when I did them with Shannon Goold. She’s brought them to school before anyone else," said senior Joe Stroup. Other people disagree with Joe’s sentiments,

"The fad originated in Byron Wood’s second block open last year, obviously," said senior Becky Davis. Others don’t feel the same way.

"Sam Wippich," said senior Elizabeth Falkey.

"Sam, no," disagreed senior Betsy Andres, "they started last year, with Eric Jacobs doing them in Ms. Sinha’s English class." English Teacher Prassu Sinha agrees that this might be true, and that perhaps she herself is responsible for urging her students to solve crossword puzzles.

"I did mention to my students once that crossword puzzles will help their brains become sharper," said Sinha. However, other students have found its origins with other teachers.

"I think it’s pretty stupid," said junior Anna Grayzel. "A lot of juniors are doing it. I don’t know exactly who started it, but it was probably Ms. Nolan," said Grayzel. Although many students in Mrs. Dean-Pratt’s English class have been seen doing crosswords, it seems as though the craze is affecting juniors and seniors more than sophomores and freshman. Some underclassmen have not even heard of it.

"What’s the cross word puzzle fad? I’ve never heard of it. Freshmen don’t do it," said freshman Roeida Alshagra. Michael Bracken feels that the crossword craze evolved over time with everyone, and that not one single person is responsible for starting it.

"I think people older than us, like our parents and siblings, were doing it, and then we tried, liked it, and it gradually spread throughout Mason from many different directions, like a domino effect. Students are often bored in school, and crosswords give them something personally rewarding to concentrate on. I love them, and doing crosswords helps me get through the day," said Bracken.

It is clear that it is virtually impossible to find the root of this crossword-mania, if one exists at all. What is more important, and probably more interesting, is why students are drawn to these puzzles.

"I think people are just bored," said senior Eleanor Grimm.

"It’s a good way to get out useless knowledge we pick up from the years of the IB program," said Joe Stroup. Also, students feel that the puzzles aren’t disruptive, so it doesn’t seem to bother teachers or fellow classmates.

"It’s not intrusive, it doesn’t disrupt class, yet it gets rid of boredom," said senior Anya Byers.

"It’s pretty cool," said senior Daniel Clark, "it’s a good way to build vocabulary." This is certainly true, especially for students who find themselves obsessively looking up answers on the Internet or in dictionaries. Despite its positive side, there are many Masonites who dislike crossword puzzles, or find the obsession just a bit too disturbing.
 
 

"They make me feel stupid," said senior Becky Davis. Others are less blunt.

"They were fun when they started, but now it’s too much of an obsession. It’s also annoying in class when people crowd around a crossword," said senior Kate Zimmermann. The intrinsic nature of the crosswords is clearly becoming extrinsic, as people obsess over them more and more each day. Perhaps this should be regarded as a type of warning to all those addicts out there, and sign that they need to STOP immediately. There are lots of students who feel this way, and who passionately dislike the puzzles because of this specific effect.

"For the most part it sucks," said senior David Lowe, upon which the two girls sitting on either side of him, Elizabeth Falkey and Betsy Andres concurred,

"I hate it," said Betsy,

"Me too," agreed Elizabeth. Elizabeth proceeded to describe her sentiments, and it is obvious that her hatred of the puzzles has evolved from the effect it is having on her classmates.

"It’s weird – people spend so much time doing these, it’s like they don’t care about anything else. I come into lunch and they’re all sitting in the alcoves in silence doing their own crosswords," said Elizabeth.