Twelve years ago, Phil Crespo was in danger of being unable to graduate from Huntley High School.

Twelve years ago, Principal Dave Johnson went the extra mile for a student and was guilty of caring too much. Twelve years ago, Johnson paid Phil Crespo, a student more interested in going into the city on the weekends to do graffiti art than his grades, to paint a mural for the school.

Twelve years ago, a mural was hung on the walls of Huntley High School in order to secure one student’s graduation.

Now, that mural has been taken down.

It is gone, erased, and deleted forever. All that remains is a plain white wall.

The mural that hundreds of students walked by every day and never noticed has vanished. There is no time left for them to notice it.

Twelve years is a long time for the mural to have been displayed and with its absence, the Advanced Art class is going to have the opportunity to make a new mural to represent the school.

For some, it is saddening to see the old mural go.

“I liked it. It made our school look like it was really artistic, which it is,” said senior Samantha Craig.

For some students, the mural has been up for their entire high school career and it is weird for them to see the barren wall.

However, the old mural’s removal will result in a new mural that will give the art students the chance to show that Crespo is not the only talented one to have ever attended Huntley.

“It is a little weird to see the white wall, but at the same time I’m looking forward to seeing new and revamped artwork,” said art teacher Jillian Corapi.

The mural was the first thing a person would see when they made their way to the fine arts hallway of Huntley High School, and the first thing that person would see should really show what the school represents.

“It [the mural] didn’t mean anything,” said senior Olivia Krewer. “What does an elephant, a temple, and the apocalypse have to do with Huntley High School?”

The advanced class that is going to be painting the new mural is beyond excited about their new project. As seniors, they are happy to be leaving their mark on the school, like a parting gift before they leave.

The ideas the class is putting together for the new mural are confidential, but Huntley can expect something great.

The old mural had an amazing story behind it and will surely be missed, but change is inevitable and twelve years is a long time to have something be branded on the walls of Huntley.

“It was fine and colorful, but it wasn’t my favorite,” said art teacher Valerie Lindquist. “I think it will be nice for a change.”

The overall feeling towards Crespo’s mural from students over the years – the ones who noticed it, anyway – was neutral. Like any kind of artwork, some people liked it and some didn’t. Some didn’t even know it was there.

“I think, as a school, we are past spray painting,” said senior Leela Miller. “Plus, half the people didn’t even notice it was gone.”

Taking down the mural does not diminish Crespo’s talents in any way. His mural will continue to have a mark on the high school, even though it is gone now. Other pieces that he did made it into the Rockford Art Museum and won awards.

It may be difficult for some to accept it, but it is an appropriate and great idea to put up new artwork in its place.