Danny DeVito shrine unites student body
By Elias Canterbury, reporter

Last school year, current sophomore Blake Grossman got an idea. This idea resulted in him purchasing a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito and installing it in the upstairs den. Just recently, the shrine was verified on Google Maps and became listed as an official religious site.

Initially, even getting the cutout set up and to the school wasn’t a certain future. As people waited for the cutout to be set up and put in place some of the more doubtful lost interest and forgot about the plan.

“I said I was going to get it and then it took a really long time and people kind of lost interest and no one really hundred percent believed that it was actually going to happen,” Grossman said. “Then one day I brought it in [and] put it on the table. There was a little, little ceremony before school started. Maybe 20 or 30 people attended that.”

However, it took a little while for the shrine to get going.
“Actually, the first day I brought it in, there was a little drama because it went missing on the first day and … there was some outrage,” Grossman said.

The shrine originated as a joke, but it very quickly became a school-wide phenomenon.

“I don’t think it was really serious, but someone just said we should get a cardboard cutout Danny DeVito,” Grossman said. “For whatever reason, that one [idea]… resonated with me. I was very spiritually compelled.”

Throughout its existence in the upstairs den, the shrine has become a well known spot for the student body. While it’s something of a joke, some students have taken it a little further.

“Officially, the shrine is [listed as] a religious site, kind of like a church or cathedral or any of those more traditional [religious sites],” Gossman said. “If you just want to become connected spiritually or you’re … feeling lost [and] you want a little direction … come to the shrine.”

Through the process of creating this site, even as a joke, Grossman has gained some moral insights.

“I just bought a cardboard cutout on Amazon,” Grossman said. “And I think that anyone, if they have an idea that’s doable, [should] just go for it, ‘cause you never know. When I got the cutout, I didn’t know this was going to happen, but you never know what you might start. You might start something amazing. I started a religion. You never know.”