Mack Malone, assistant principal

You’re rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you walk through the fluorescent hallways at 7 in the morning. You’re startled by a deep, booming voice scolding you; your hand instinctively goes to your chest looking for something. It’s okay, don’t panic. It’s not the Terminator. No, the shiny bald head is not that of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It is just assistant principal Mack Malone saying, “Where’s your ID badge!?”

Malone is usually that one assistant principal you don’t want to run into as you try to sneak back into the building or when you’re missing an ID. He’s always on the lookout to make sure everything is in order. Some students like senior Joey Johnson would say, “It’s all business with that man.” Although sometimes it doesn’t work out in your favor, his stern demeanor brings comfort to students knowing that he is protecting our school.

Malone is notorious for his authoritative approach toward students; yet, his contagious smile and witty remarks can light up someone’s day. 

It’s not unlikely that if you pass by him in the hallway, you can catch him laughing about an inside joke with one of the students. In the morning you might see Malone giving a warning to students to get to class or talking to senior Wilson Leslie about his next free drink.

“I have an off-campus period and I come in with a lot of drinks. So when I come in he’s always like where’s my drink?” senior Wilson Leslie said. “I’m like, ‘Okay I’ll get you coffee or muscle milk.’ After that I got him a drink and we’re bffs. I see him every morning and every morning I walk in with something wrong whether I have no ID or something.”

Whether or not it is about muscle milk or Malone determining you look more like a crazy lady instead of a senior citizen (coming from personal experience), you know his hard exterior can easily be broken. 

Even though our morning grogginess is usually interrupted with Malone’s Terminator-like voice saying “good morning,” we appreciate the work he does from checking IDs to playing along with our jokes. Our own version of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson keeps our school safe and is a part of our school’s charm.