Summer is just around the corner at Crescent Valley High School! As the outdoors begin to warm and schoolwork winds down, many CV students turn to their favorite hobbies once more. A modern day rock, paper, or scissors dilemma, glue vs. tape is the inevitable dilemma facing creative students. In response to this problem, and in hope of alleviating the stress of this decision, I asked 27 CV students for their answer to this challenging question. 

As it turned out, over 75% of respondents preferred to use tape. When I asked for the reason behind this decision, I found that tape is more associated with personal projects. One respondent commented that, “I mostly use tape for hanging up posters and glue for school projects”. Clearly, tape is something valuable to students because it has a value associated with their personal lives. In addition, several students commented that “in general, tape is easier”, and “glue is overrated. It dries up quickly, it’s sticky, and makes a mess”.

I also asked students what their favorite form of each adhesive was, and got back some surprising results. Almost 45% of students preferred scotch/clear tape as their favorite kind of tape, likely because of its almost-invisible-yet-shiny nature. A close minority preferred painters/masking tape, which is ideal for certain art projects and hanging up posters. Even so, there were a diverse range of tapes with their own following. “I like fancy tape, with colors, and designs, and sometimes glitter. The kind used for art,” commented one creative student. Another weighed in that “Double sided tape is really nice in the right circumstances”. While tape may be a good bet for your next project, students are very divided on which kind.

On the glue side of things, a little over 33% preferred hot glue. A close second was elmer’s/craft glue, and gluesticks took up third place with 18.5% of the vote. Several students also wished to inform us that “it’s sticky”.

In conclusion, there are a variety of adhesives available for students to use. Sometimes it’s best to stop worrying about which one to choose and enjoy the fact that you’ve got options. Thank you to all the respondents who answered our survey, and to the sophomore who asked “Are you glue? Because I’m attached to you”, tape or not, you’ve got my attention.