Backpack flipping: unzipped

Chelsea Brandwein and Alice KorsStaff WritersWho flipped the backpack? Was it the quiet overachieving “Professor Plum” with the Jansport in the English Building? Or maybe it was the flirtatious “Miss Scarlet” with the North Face in the Spanish classroom? Whomever it was, backpack flipping lends itself to the ongoing game of “CLUE” to identify the backpack flipper. There’s the usual flipping routine, the sneaking up behind the victim, the suppressed giggles and the waiting to see how long it takes “the flipee” to notice. The teacher sits motionless at the side of the classroom, fully aware — sometimes disappointed, other times completely amused.As for the “flippers,” they make eye contact with suspecting classmates from across the room and plead with them not to blow their cover.“Backpack flipping is addictive. It tests your ninja skills,” sophomore Alex Jodlowski said.The origin of this phenomenon is unclear. While many try to claim backpack flipping as their own, it seems that the art of flipping has been around for longer than most people think.“People have been flipping backpacks since I was in middle school. In eighth grade people started doing it. I was both a ‘flipper and a ‘flipee,’ but we grew out of it by the end of the year,” English teacher Katharine Collins said. “I asked my sister, who is four years younger, if she did it when she was in high school and she said, ‘No! Why would we do that?’”For some, backpack flipping may be seen as an annoying prank, but junior Patrick King acknowledges one upside of backpack flipping.“[Backpack flipping] gives your backpack a good, needed cleaning,” King said.But sophomore Erik Esparza learned it is not all fun and games after he experienced a particularly damaging backpack flip: coffee was poured into his bag, staining his notebooks and ruining his assignments. This is a violation of the “Flipping Code of Conduct” (outlined below) and was a terrible inconvenience for Esparza.“If you’re going to do backpack flipping, don’t take it too far,” Esparza said.Nevertheless backpack flipping is an up-and-coming trend at Samo that shows no sign of ceasing. Breaches in the “Flipping Code of Conduct” are relatively rare and many newbie “flippers” aspire to join the elite “Flipping Hall of Fame.” To reach this great honor, one must complete an “ultimate flip.”“You become a legit, ultimate, pro flipper when you complete a ‘pouch,’ ” King said. “You take the smallest pouch, and you flip from there. Excess contents from the bag are delivered as a package.”The amount of flippable items is nearly endless. “Pro flippers” can reverse anything from a backpack to a pack of gum, and they can do so faster than you can say, “I’d like to make a suggestion about the identity of the flipper.”“You have a spotter, a.k.a. a reconnaissance, and they distract [the potential flipee]. If you are working with two people, you can do it in about twenty seconds,” King said.For the flipper, time is of the essence, but how long it will take to reverse and restore the bag to its former condition?“I [flipped] a football bag and [the victim] cried. It took me five minutes to do it but it took him an hour to put all his stuff back in,” freshman Matthew Galvan said of his “greatest flip yet.”What regular flippers find most amusing are the reactions of their victims. Some laugh, some cry and others try to contemplate ways to avoid taking the time to flip their backpack back.“For me, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘I don’t want to re-flip it — so how am I going to carry it without the straps ... ?” senior Edwin Surio said.Teachers have mixed reactions to the new trend.“A few of my juniors did a parody of this phenomenon and during their presentation they flipped my backpack and used it as an example,” English teacher Nathan Fulcher said. “I see [backpack flipping] as annoying and ridiculous.”Math teacher Gilbert Lopez recognizes how backpack flipping can take away from class time.“There’s humor to [backpack flipping] but it can be done in bad taste. That’s when it becomes distracting to the learning environment,” Lopez said.While many teachers agree with Fulcher and Lopez, chemistry teacher Daniel Harris thinks differently of the prank.“As long as it is not distracting from the lesson, it keeps you alert and aware of the world around you. It is an excellent revenge tactic on students not paying attention. I have never done it, but I think it is hilarious,” Harris said.No matter where backpack flipping got its start or what the reaction of the “flipee” will be, we are all victims of the “flip life.”“Backpack flipping is a high school revolution fueled by the hormonal instincts of bored students,” junior Silvana Ferrarin said.Senior Nilou Sarvian added, “I find [flipping] so entertaining. It’s a clever way to prank someone without harming them.”So beware; “Professor Plum” and “Miss Scarlet” might just catch you on the flip side.cbrandwein@thesamohi.comakors@thesamohi.com