Pep rally called most organized in years

The SGA-organized pep rally brought together the senior, junior, sophomore and freshman classes on Friday, Oct. 28 to rally for the Homecoming game tomorrow, in spite of freshman-hazing fears.

SGA president Barun Aryal was proud of the SGA-sponsored event, which was organized by junior Bao-Ngoc Nguyen. "I think it went pretty well the way it did," Aryal said. "It feels much more organized than previous years." Senate President Sebastian Johnson also noted the success of the rally. "This pep rally is the most organized [one] we've had in four years."

The pep rally included performances by the cheerleaders and poms, both of whom performed elaborate routines featuring high jumps and risqué dance numbers. Senior Sarita Johnson injured herself during one of the dances, popping her left knee out of place. In what seemed liked minutes, she returned to the gym cheering on her peers; however, this time she sat in a wheelchair with an ice bag.

Several Blair alums visited the rally, including Martin "Big Country" Brown of '05. "There's more school spirit from everybody all together this year," he said.

Despite the violence in past pep rallies, the division of classes did not incite any upperclassmen-versus-lowerclassmen conflict. "Generally, [the rally] was pretty respectful," said Assistant Principal Linda Wanner. Wanner even commented that separating the classes positively affects student participation in the rally. "The class division lends to school spirit," she said.

Many senior Blazers showed their spirit with the new senior t-shirts, which arrived on time but in short supply. "We need to represent our class and be proud," commented senior Mirna Retana.

Some Blazers also believe that separation is unavoidable. "There's gonna be class rivalry no matter what," said senior Sarah Wolk. "If you don't divide it physically, people are gonna divide anyway." According to senior Roxanne Shorrock, "If classes were mixed there would be a lot more fighting … If we had freshmen right next to us there would be fights."

This year the SGA decided to hold the rally inside due to inclement weather. Aryal, who otherwise considered the rally to be a success, regrets that the marching band did not have a more visible role in the rally. "It would have been nice if we gave them a more prominent display," Aryal said.