As a common part of campus life, most pep rallies aim to boost school spirit. However, in the first rally of the year, student leadership chose to honor those who serve and give their lives in the Armed Forces, Sept. 11. Campus administrators even agreed to lift the ban on camouflage clothing in recognition of the day.
To open the rally, the drum line played their marching cadence for the year. Following musical suit, campus choir sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” in front of the classes, led by music director Michael Ogdon.
Junior Sydney Carlson, a member of the drum line, felt including the percussionist portion of the rally better represented the campus body.
“Having the drum line participate in the rally was cool because it wasn’t just about cheer and sports; it included more school groups,” Carlson said. “Since it was the first year having the drum line as a separate unit from the band, it felt amazing when everyone cheered and to know they enjoyed it. Students got to see what we were doing and what we can do.”
Unlike past rallies, the Sept. 11 rally initiated humor into the introduction of athletes by making each varsity football player participate in an obstacle course, making it more enjoyable for students. Student leadership hoped to inspire student morale through engaging and interesting rallies for students.
“I liked the football player introduction because it was fresh and fun; the energy was kept up and didn’t seem staged, but flowed,” Josh Hopper, ’12, said. “I loved how coach [Bonner] Cunnings talked and prayed. I think the point of rallies is not to get everyone into the game you play, but to get people excited about it and to have fun.”
New leadership advisers Robin Whitford and Robert Foshee desired a successful rally to set the tone for other campus events. Effective in their goal, students reacted positively to the first of many rallies.
“I thought it was more exciting than other rallies because we weren’t just watching cheers or hearing people introduced,” Carlson said. “People had more fun with it; it had surprises and entertained people. I think it interested the students more and got more school spirit out of them. It seemed like people actually cheered for the sports teams and had fun, rather than the apathetic attitudes from previous years.”
For freshmen experiencing their first high school rally, they may not know what to expect. Surprised at the success, freshman Ashlyn Key enjoyed the entertaining aspect of the rally.
“I thought [the rally] was really good,” Key said. “It was fun and cool how the football players entered through the obstacle course and I also thought the drums sounded really good. I was surprised at how good they were.”
Adding to the emphasis for school spirit, the rally commenced with the distribution of Nut Packs, packages sold to students that included a shirt, seat pad, pom-pom and megaphone for use in the Nut House at football games. Students also received National Guard shirts distributed by soldiers who attended the rally as a surprise.
Although rallies are intended to revive school spirit, the first rally of the school also gave students a chance to reflect on the Sept. 11 terrorist attack with respect for those who fought and gave their lives.
