As my senior year draws to a close, I often find myself looking back on my fondest memories of Blair instead of doing my English homework. I can say without a doubt that one of my happiest memories is of relaxing outside the school on an autumn day my junior year as a piece of a banner reading "Class of '04" floated by in the breeze.
I wouldn't be surprised if a number of other Blazers remembered that day in October 2000 when a pep rally climaxed into a frenzy of emotional interclass rivalries. We became hoarse shouting our graduation years, we left shredded class decorations up and down Blair Blvd, and I, at least, was genuinely proud to be a Blazer.
This year, however, our spirited rivalries seem to be under fire.
Administration has apparently been pushing to change the seating at upcoming pep rallies, changing the order of class seating or even organizing Blazers by academic department. While I'm willing to cheer alongside my fellow seventh-period Latin students, does a little rivalry really hurt anyone? Class pride is an essential part of school pride that we must preserve.
After all, in a school that prides itself on diversity, grade level is just another difference to celebrate. Blair's senior class has the unique perspective of spending four years here, while freshmen have their own distinctive experiences, such as getting lost on the way to their lockers.
Don't get me wrong— I don't dislike underclassmen, and I doubt any senior or junior truly does. That's the beauty of class divisions: in the end, they're not really divisive at all. After the loudest and proudest pep rallies or Powder Puff games, seniors and freshmen still share lunches, rides home and plenty of school spirit.
Therefore, I'd like to say that it would be '02 bad to lose class pride '04 ever, so we must keep class rivalries alive and well. Let us defend our right to raise our voices in class chants. Let us boldly wear our class t-shirts and flaunt our pride in something more personal than the lacrosse team's victories. And when I come back to visit Blair next year, I want to see tattered pieces of Homecoming banners floating over the roofs of the shiny new portables.
Emily Purcell. Emily Purcell is a senior in the CAP. She has been steadily accumulating knowledge of page design through Silver Chips and Blair's literary magazine, Silver Quill, and is proud to be playing with words and pictures as one of the newspaper's centerspread editors. When not … More »
No comments.
Please ensure that all comments are mature and responsible; they will go through moderation.