“My heart is lost; the bees have eaten it.” Author Charles Baudelaire has no comment on the aforementioned bees, but the students at Lake Brantley High School certainly have. Countless pep rallies, lunches and class transitions have been hijacked by yellow and black foes that rule the school.

My grievances may seem humorous, but I assure you they are not. Every time the bell rings, students are reminded that they are not alone. The bees are there; eating, waiting, preparing for the latest group of students to terrorize. The bees come out of hiding every year around January. From there, it does not stop. Students go through Valentine’s Day, prom, birthdays and even graduation before the bees will ever consider going back into hiding. Their habitat of choice are the thick plastic trash cans that are so meticulously placed around campus. The trash cans are quite literally everywhere around the school, especially the front office and main student entry gate. Nothing screams ‘Welcome to school!’ quite like a trash can full of angry bees.

After countless antagonizing run-ins with these creatures, I have decided that the best way to avoid their wrath is by avoiding them all together. For me, this means changing my route to classes. This may seem like an insignificant change, but that is far from the truth. Instead of taking the simple and straightforward path to my next class, I must weave in and out of a sea of people who are trying to avoid contact with the bees. Although it may be inconvenient, taking the ‘long way’ to class turns into a period of time where I can take stock of all the things I am grateful for, including avoiding the bees. I know that others are not as lucky as me. I have seen students get brutally chased and tormented by the bees, resulting in minor physical injuries, but a lasting lifetime of mental ones.

Because there is no simple solution to this demented problem, I have come up with a few of my own. The first is relocating the trash cans. Not only would this keep the bees alive, but they would not be bothered by students, and vice versa. I propose that the infested trash cans are relocated to the empty field, directly adjacent to the student parking lot. By strategically moving the trash cans, administration still has full access to the bees. Because the infested trash cans are still on display to the majority of the school, they can serve as a reminder of the kind of campus that we had before, and that students must be thankful for the gracious removal of the trash cans. Besides eliminating the bees, getting rid of the trash cans would also eliminate all waste from campus. Lake Brantley has the potential to be the world’s first bee and trash free school. Picture smiling, happy students free from troublesome worries about litter or getting viciously chased by swarms of bees.

Although my next solution is inherently complicated, I believe it has the potential to be the most effective. In order to permanently combat the bees, the entirety of Lake Brantley High School must relocate. I don’t mean simply rezoning students to different high schools. In order for optimal productivity, a new Lake Brantley campus must be constructed. Relocating to a whole new campus would give staff and students the second chance they so deserve. A new campus may be costly, but there are many hidden benefits apart from a bee-free school, including having access to state-of-the-art facilities, modern and sleek architecture and plentiful parking. I encourage all to look beyond the one benefit that most would immediately think of, eliminating the bees, and instead explore a multifaceted view. Building a new campus is a win for all involved. Students will be more focused in schools because of the lack of bees, administration will love the brand new campus and taxpayers will feel proud knowing that they have contributed to a bee-free facility.