Picture this: it’s the period after lunch, and you just bought an overpriced pack of Extra peppermint gum from the deli across the street. You carefully and quietly peel off the plastic wrapper from the pack, so you can finally chew on some gum. You meticulously take out a piece and all of a sudden all heads in the classroom turn, and you hear the obnoxious, jarring sound of gum-craving teenagers: “can I have a piece?”

You think to yourself: this could go two ways. If I give gum out, then I am known as someone who will always give it out, but then I will never have gum for myself, I’ll be a pushover! But if I don’t give it out, people might think that I’m mean, and that I don’t like them!

All of a sudden you find yourself with only 5 pieces of what 3 minutes ago was full pack of gum. Now you’re just sad, gave yourself a reputation that you give away gum, and 5 pieces away from gumless.

At the iSchool, gum is considered very high up on the list of things you need to survive the day, outweighing chargers, headphones and even pencils. And while gum is so important, almost no one has it. That’s what makes it so special. The people who are willing to expose the fact that they have gum are brave, because everyone will pounce on them in a matter of seconds.

Freshman Sophia Bruno says, “I love gum, especially 5 Brand, it helps me concentrate and keeps me entertained during class. But I almost never have gum, I’m always asking for it because it’s way overpriced at the deli near school.”

While most teachers feel very strongly about students chewing gum in class, Algebra and Pre-Algebra teacher Ms. LaPlante feels differently as she says,“I have no problem with students chewing gum in class as long as they are not getting too distracted with it and do not stick it under the table. I also hate it when students pass it around in class.”

And while gum is very popular with students and even some teachers at the iSchool, there are some issues that come with the forbidden fruit.

“People are constantly asking me for gum, I can’t take it out in class anymore. And sometimes kids can be really gross about chewing their gum, they pop way too many bubbles, stick it under the table, stretch it out in their fingers, it’s kind of disgusting,” says freshman Mariead Kearns. “When I chew gum, I simply keep it in my mouth.”

The moral of these opinions is that gum, while amazing in taste, can be disruptive in class, and it can be obnoxious to hand out in class. And there is no solution to the mystery of why iSchoolers like gum so much, they just do.

So next time you want to have a piece of gum to freshen up your breath, entertain yourself in a class, or even just because you’re hungry, take out your gum in private because you never know what the outcome could be in the battlefield we call the classroom. A teacher could yell at you, and make you spit it out, or a whole gaggle of students could be begging you for a piece.