Sea creatures, farm animals, cartoon characters and even tween
heartthrob Justin Bieber are appearing across the Inland area this
fall as part of the latest fad to sweep schools.
They’re coming in the form of brightly colored elastic bands
commonly known by the brand name Silly Bandz. The bands look
similar to rubber bands while worn around the wrist, but when taken
off, return to their original shape: from a cat to a school bus to
a sports team’s logo.
Sixth-grader Rojanna Tayco, 11, said she wasn’t sure about the
bands at first.
“I thought they were kind of silly,” said Rojanna, who attends
Bella Vista Middle School in Murrieta. The bands grew on her as her
friends started collecting them. “You can get them in your favorite
characters. I have 100 of them.”
The inexpensive bands are sold in packages at supermarkets,
drugstores, big-box stores and at malls, often for less than $5.
Children collect them, trade them with friends and wear them —
sometimes dozens at a time. Some children have gotten so carried
away that schools across the country have banned the bands.
“They get addicting,” said 11-year-old Sam Siroky, a
sixth-grader at Bella Vista, where students often spend their lunch
break swapping bands and showing off their latest acquisitions.
“I like the animals,” Sam said. “You can make scenes with
them.”
Band problems
The bands also can be a distraction in class. Youths shoot them
like rubber bands, or play with them instead of doing classwork.
Disputes can arise from trading. Those issues have led some schools
across the country, including some in Kansas, Texas, Pennsylvania
and New York, to bar the bands from campus.
In the Inland Empire, educators say the bands haven’t caused
much disruption so far.
A survey of teachers at Evans Ranch Elementary School in Menifee
indicated that most teachers were content to let the trend wear
itself out without any rules, said principal Ken Murdock, principal
of the Menifee school.
“If the kids comply with teachers’ expectations, we’ll probably
just ride it out,” Murdock said. But if problems creep up, “then
maybe we’ll have to make the hard call.”
The bands also can prove distracting at home. Hemet resident
Marie Turner said her daughters Rylee, 7, and Jordyn, 4, sometimes
play with them during homework time, and she’s had to ban them from
meal time because the girls focus on the bands instead of
eating.
“I don’t allow toys at the table,” she said. “They’re not
wearing them, they’re playing with them.”
tools for Schools
Bella Vista Principal Pam Blasich said the bands appeared on
campus just as school began. Teachers and administrators noticed
them right away because the students wore so many of them, Blasich
said.
“The boys are kind of into it, but the girls are really into
it,” she said.
Teachers and administrators are using the fad to their
advantage. Bella Vista recently held a school-wide “Silly Bandz
Day” so students could show off their favorites. Some teachers
offer the bands as rewards for students who do well in class.
The bands also were offered as a prize to help boost sales
during a recent magazine drive. The move worked, said sixth-grade
teacher and Associated Student Body adviser Amanda Siroky.
“They were a very inexpensive way to motivate the kids,” Siroky
said.
Emma Wells, 11, said the variety of styles and colors is part of
the bands’ appeal. Each package contains several shapes and
colors.
“There’s so many different kinds,” she said. There’s tie-dye
ones. Some glow in the dark.”
Reach Michelle L. Klampe at 951-375-3740 or mklampe@pressenterprise.com
