Here's what my vivid imagination tells me, without knowing the original text:
It seems like more of a creative text. Or at least a text that's there to communicate more than facts only.
For me the repetition of and is a literary device; a way for the writer to say "I observed these four types of people/behaviors among those leaving the school" and I want to make that clear. And maybe also to convey a certain tone in the observer. But for tone we'd need some more text, I'd say, to tell. From the word choice, maybe a humorous tone? Commas would make it sound more like a list with less emphasis.
But to answer your technical question: Yes, in my opinion, commas could have been used instead, if the goal was information only.