From clothes, to clubs, and even certain sports, trends come and go at Prep. Classes that were popular to take five years ago are no longer. One thing that has stayed throughout decades of change: JUG. This form of redirection for students after they get off track during school has been used by teachers and even on teachers at Prep.
Like many other teachers, History and Economics teacher Mr. Brian Elsner had a small encounter with JUG during his time at Prep. Elsner was a typical Prep student, a participant in basketball, tennis and a strong student. However, when Elsner received his fourth tardy and his attendance card was clipped, a practice now retired from Prep, Elsner was assigned JUG. As a “…very nervous freshmen who was very scared of the custodian” and someone without a watch, Elsner picked up trash for two hours and 40 minutes. When Elsner returned with his bursting bag of trash, the current “JUG master” said he thought Elsner had skipped and sent him home. Safe to say Elsner never received JUG again, and still looks back fondly at the story.
Mr. Max Engel, Math teacher and head of the Baseball program, received JUG only once for chewing gum. However, in a disgusting turn of events, Mr. Engel’s gum was confiscated and added to a “…gum ball of thirty years of JUG gum.” Senor Café, a now retired Spanish teacher from Prep, used to keep a giant used gum ball on his desk as reminder to his students to behave. Unfortunately, the gum ball no longer has a home a Prep in today’s post covid world, but Engel looks back positively on the experience. Engel describes receiving JUG as a “…rite of passage” when attending Prep and instructs students to not dwell on a single JUG.
Mr. Craig Arthur, Jogues and Rahner Collegio teacher, received JUG on various occasions, including the feared Saturday JUG. After mercilessly skipping a class his junior year, Arthur was obliged to show up at 8:00 am, ready to scrub the original “Big Blue” for three hours. On top of the fee of manual labor, Arthur had to pay a fee of $5 to the teacher present, roughly equivalent to $25 in today’s time. Though he doesn’t recall why he had to serve JUG on other instances, Arthur did have plenty of stories of on what on certain punishments he endured. On one instance during his sophomore year, instead following the norm and making him pick up trash for an hour, the “Jug Master” decided Arthur should dig up an entire rose bush, transport it across campus, and plant it again, all amidst the Seattle downpour. Conveniently, once Arthur had finished his task, the “Jug Master” had changed his mind and decided he wanted the rose bush moved back. Arthur says, “That’s just how JUG used to be.”
Dean of Students, Mr. Andy Hendrix, class of ‘83 describes his high school self as “…the same as now, which is probably frightening to many students.” He played soccer and after a year of freshmen football he “…quickly figured out that was not for me”. Regarding JUG, Hendrix never received the punishment which was much harsher during his time at Prep. Students used to receive JUG if they were tardy to over two classes in one day. Repeat JUG offenders would be forced to Saturday detention, where they were stripped of $25 and their dignity when they worked three hours for the school on Saturday. Over his career at Prep, Hendrix has taught Mr. Engel, Ms. Lovejoy, Mr. Elsner, Ms. Andrews, Ms. O’Brien. He can’t recall a time he gave a current teacher JUG, saying “I have never really given a lot of JUG until the last year and a half”.
Although Prep teachers didn’t cause too much mischief, they were once high schoolers too. It’s inspirational to see how many delinquents turned their lives around. And a final message for students: Don’t worry! If you’ve received JUG, you are still eligible to teach at Prep in your future!
