Instead of holing up in an office all day polishing trophies, flying paper airplanes or whatever else it is that principals do, the new head of Ames High patrols the halls himself, making it a point to visit every classroom at least once a day. Proactive, some call him. Intimidating, say many others. Opinions are a bit mixed at the moment. “He seems like a real nice guy,” senior Eric Smith said, “a classy gentleman.” “I feel like what he’s doing is good,” senior Cliff Song said. “He’s just really strict.” “A lot of students don’t know what to think about him,” senior Marian Thompson said, “simply because they haven’t really interacted with him.” Although the man himself is a bit of a mystery, there’s no denying that he’s already brought several changes to Ames High. From P.E. to posters, he’s revised a whole slew of policies, and raised many questions in the process. “Just to clear things up, I had nothing to do with the bells,” Principal Spence Evans said. “That would’ve been the case whether it was me or McGrory. It was just something with the fire code.” And in order to reduce distractions from people wandering through the halls, a more stringent tardy policy was put in place. Though many students may not know why these changes are taking place, they can rest assured that the new principal is doing the best he can to bring out the best in Ames High. “When I first visited, I really enjoyed the fact that I could picture my own children here.” Evans said. “The student body was very friendly and it didn’t seem like there were major cliques. Everyone had a place; that was the most intriguing.” A strong believer in school spirit, he is working on ways to get students more involved in their high school community. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be athletics or Band, Chorus, Orchestra,” he said. “Being in clubs, being a fan is being connected. I really want that for all the students. I thoroughly enjoyed high school; I felt I was more connected and had a better experience because of that.” His policies may seem unnecessarily strict now, but it’s all part of a master plan to get students on the right track. “High school should be prepping you for college, and college preps you for life and career,” Evans said. “Obviously we want you to become more independent as you progress from ninth to twelfth grade, so when you have to be away from home you’re prepared.” “I hope students always know that they can come and talk to me; we’re going to work through things together. The more maturity we have, the more privileges we’ll get.” “One-on-one, he’s really nice, but I think he needs to work on how he presents himself to the school,” junior Katrina Henderson said. “I don’t think he knows what kind of principal we’re used to. He doesn’t really project the kind of image kids are open to.” “So far, I understand his policy changes, but I’m not sure if all of them are for the good of the student body,” Thompson said. “But if he stays as focused as he has been in the first few weeks, he could probably get a lot done.” And that pretty much sums him up: he’s here to get the job done. “I think we’re off to a great start,” he said. “As we go along, I hope students can see I have a real fun side, that I’m not just all about rules. That’s my hope for the future.”