I think this year the new thing at Mac might be hacky sack. A club for the popular knick-knack is under question with administrators right now, so as of right now, most students play during lunch. Mr. Andrew Arnatt, English teacher, even played with some students one lunch.
The name “Hacky Sack” came from the 1972 inventors of the Footbag, John Stalberger and Mike Marshall. At a later date, Stalberger sold the title to Wham-O. Since then, it has become a generalized trademark, and can refer to either the footbag or a footbag game. Footbag-like activities have existed for many years. Policemen are seen playing it using a shuttlecock in the 1955 movie To Catch a Thief. The charm of hacky sack comes from watching others playing, and from the personal enjoyment of keeping a small bag filled with beads. Bags are stitched with panels (the cloth that keeps them together) that can range from having 2 panels to 120, and can be filled with; sand, beads, seeds, or dirt.
“I’ve been here since 1983, and hacky sack at MacArthur started around 1985. I remember attitude towards it was well distrustful would be a nice way of saying it. It’s what skateboarders use to be perceived as those outsiders, kids that are a little weird or strange. I always looked at it as,’hey at least they aren’t sitting on their butts in front of TV all day, and they are actually getting exercise.’ I never played, as a kid I would hold up the baseball mitt and be hit in the head,” said Mr. Christopher Green, Government teacher.
