Screaming.  Cheering.  Mayhem.  Those words pretty much sum up the pep rally.

I love class color day, I really do.  The rivalry between the juniors and seniors, tagging freshies, covering themselves in tape –  it’s all fun.  However, the pep rally, at least with the way it’s currently set up, is one thing that I hate about class color day.

The majority of the pep rally is spent screaming “juniors/seniors suck” and yelling indistinct phrases for no reason.  This doesn’t seem like a very good way of increasing school spirit.  And while everybody was screaming, they missed what was, in my opinion, the best part of the rally: the talent.

Junior Marcus Monroe, senior Christie Macdonald, the band, the team captains, the cheerleaders.  Every single person involved in the musical or athletic part of the rally was putting them self out there, and working extremely hard.  Instead, people focus on the unimaginative and insulting chants between the juniors and seniors.

Another aspect of the pep rally that absolutely infuriated me was the mob at the end.  It’s sad that the most spirited part of the rally was supposed to be everyone in the school running down the bleachers and screaming at the top of their lungs. Not my cup of tea.  People trying to hang back, like photographers for the yearbook or those walking down the bleachers at a less-than-sprinting pace were shoved out of the way. The entire situation seemed out of control and maniacal.   It would have been just as easy to keep people in the bleachers and have them come down a class at a time instead of allowing a huge mass of people to come down at once.

I propose a new way of looking at the pep rally: one which focuses on how talented our school really is.  Instead of pitting classes against each other in relay races, have teams with freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors working together against the faculty.  Recognize and appreciate the team captains.  Cheer for the cheerleaders.  Laugh at the dance contest.  Listen to how great the band sounds.  Do all the things that you already do at the pep rally, but make the positive the main focus.  Don’t scream insults across the room.  Don’t throw yourself into a frenzied mosh pit of jumping up and down on the gym floor.  Take the chance to enjoy yourself, enjoy being out of class, and see how talented JC can be.

Martha Schick is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.