Excitement runs through the roaring crowd as each class does a chant to close out the assembly. However, on the other side of town, the bleachers in the gym have  been quiet and empty for 4 years. To bring the school spirit alive again, West Campus needs to hold pep assemblies.

At East Campus, pep assemblies were held on average every two months during AIM. Before the pandemic, they were centered around the start of the year, Homecoming, winter break, MORP spirit week, and the end of the year. However, since 2017, West Campus has yet to hold another assembly due to students’ lack of interest.  

The lack of school spirit throughout the past couple of years has put a damper on the school as a whole. Without it, it’s hard for students to be enthusiastic and pumped about school events. To improve this, hosting a few pep assemblies each year will help excite students with fun activities. To include everyone’s interests, East Campus holds dodgeball tournaments, relay races, karaoke competitions, inflatable obstacle courses, and pie-eating contests just to name a few. 

High school should be about making memories and enjoying the time here. Which is most difficult when students are stressed or busy with classwork. Pep assemblies allow students a break from school and let them enjoy themselves along with their friends. “School should be fun and making memories should be a priority during this stage of life,” explains Leah Pelletier, East science teacher and student council advisor. “I think COVID has taught us never to take anything for granted and how valuable time spent with loved ones is.” 

“I am a huge fan of Pep Rallies”, says East Principal Dr. Jeff Prickett. “They encourage a strong community and bring students and staff together if done right. They should be part of a high school community.”

 However, at West Campus, the absence of them has resulted in students having trouble feeling included. The different social activities bring all grades together and the enthusiastic environment and help students connect with their school’s community.

The reason West has discontinued pep assemblies is that the amount of time and work it took for StuCo to prepare the assemblies was too overwhelming. And seemed useless when the majority of students were barely interested. But it is unfair to remove them altogether by assuming that every class is going to act the same.

The spirit is this school needs to be uplifted and to bring back that enthusiasm we once had pep assemblies need to be given another chance.