Over the past two weeks, students and teachers have probably noticed “Bills” taped to walls, doors and desks around the school. These are not dollar bills or any kind of money, but Bills: small pictures of a man with the name ‘Bill’ written below him. This mysterious trend has raised many questions, such as who Bill is, why he is covering the school, and how it all started.
The original Bill came from a poster in Mr. May’s classroom. Some students from his study skills class noticed the poster, and thinking it was so random, started researching it. They found that “Bill” was a political campaign from the early 1900s. The man in the picture, William Taft, was a president from 1909-1913. At the time, rumors said that he once got stuck in the White House bathtub, giving him the nickname Big Bill. There was nothing to specify if this was the reason why his political campaign was called “Bill,” but it is definitely a possibility. President Bill Taft did not win the election for a second term, however his “Bill” campaign became popular again; over one hundred years later at Morro Bay High.
The backstory of Bill (William Taft) is an interesting aspect of American history, but still does not explain why his political posters have been placed throughout the school. Jack Gregory, a junior and a founder of the trend, shared his reasoning for the outspread of Bill. “I saw him on a poster, and it was something I wanted on my wall. That was when I realized it was actually so much more.” Two weeks have passed since the initial sightings and all forms of Bill have already escalated. For example, many other students have joined in on activities such as printing out Bills, hiding Bills in halls and classrooms, and even sending in photoshopped pictures to Bill’s Instagram account, @billmbhs.
Distribution and awareness of Bill has been increasing daily, and students predict that the rise won’t slow down any time soon. Although some have been overheard saying that Bill is getting annoying or that they never thought Bill was funny to begin with, it probably won’t affect the trend, because so many people are still supporting the trend. Freshman Kate Blacketter, another leading member of the trend, proudly revealed that “Bill is [her] grandpappy.” This is, of course, an exaggeration, but in reality, she may be distantly related to William Taft.
There is still a lot of unknown information as to how and why Bill suddenly appeared at our school, but one thing certain: Bill is here, and Bill is everywhere. Despite the idea’s undeniable strangeness, there have been no signs of students’ fascination with Bill waning, so it is unclear how long this will go on for and how and how many more Bills we will see.
