Fair Lawn High School has a pep rally the last day of class before Thanksgiving Break each year, but this year it may not happen. Last year the event got out of hand as the results for all four grades’ fundraising activities were announced along with the introduction of the senior athletes for the fall season sports.
A Few Bad Apples
While intended as good fun, crowd control and student behavior may have the event coming to an end. The pep rally used to be held before the annual Thanksgiving Day football game, but the high school has not had the holiday game for a number of years now so the rally was moved to the last day of school before break.
It is intended as a culmination of “Spirit Week” – A time for the different grades to support each others’ efforts in the fundraising activities and to come together as a school when the athletes are introduced. Instead the students are calling out inappropriate comments about students and other grades. The positive student support during the rally seems to be dwindling and the Superintendent, Bruce Watson, is also concerned about that the rally exceeds the maximum capacity by a few hundred people. It seems parents and students want to keep the rally, but most acknowledge other plans need to be made.
What Should They Do?
I like the idea of a rally to celebrate fundraising successes and student athletes. I like that the school is trying to keep something in place that most students enjoy. It’s most likely the majority of the students are not causing the problem. It’s a shame the troublemakers cannot be weeded out and dealt with without ruining the rally for everyone else. Maybe if the students with unsuitable behavior were eliminated from the function then the overcrowding would no longer be an issue either!
