Some teachers require students to carry generic paper bathroom passes when they leave the classroom. Others provide more creative artifacts  for students to take to the bathroom or on aimless walks around the building.

I set out to find the three most unique and interesting passes currently traveling the halls:

3. Math teacher David Paulson’s wooden-block hall pass is a popular outlet for student expression and designs. However, some of the graffiti on the pass is less than complimentary.

A student changed “Mr. Paulson pass” into “Mr. Paulson didn’t pass the sobriety test.”  Equally “complimentary” sketches often accompany the defamations.

“I encourage a sense of humor, and the nice part about this pass is that it’s a piece of junk, and no one’s going to steal it,” Paulson says. “It’s a way for students to vent, and it’s better that the students deface school property this way than draw on desks and on the walls of the bathroom.”

2. Science teacher Don DeMember provides a pass that commemorates the stone ages as a joke about his dislike for students leaving during class. The 50-pound cement block sits at the front of his classroom as a practical joke.

“I thought it’d be funny for those students who abuse their bathroom privileges to have to haul a huge rock when they leave the room,” DeMember says. “Two years ago, I actually made one student take it because she went to the bathroom every day during my class.”

Don’t underestimate your teachers’ constant warnings about what will happen if you abuse bathroom privileges. If you have Mr. DeMember, you may be in for a treat.

1. Without a doubt, social studies teacher Marisa Del Savio has the most impressive hall pass. Her human neuron model is a pass that aims to combine the best of both worlds: a cool design and factual information.

“I keep this neuron pass because of its important content,” Del Savio says. “It’s related to our class, and the great thing is that by the time the year is over, my students never forget the basic structure of a neuron.”

If you’re lucky enough to use any of these passes, take the time to appreciate them. Realize that you’re carrying one of the coolest hall passes in the school, and most importantly, don’t forget to return the pass to the classroom. Treat it like what it really is: art.