by Persephone Wetcher, Staff Writer
This month, Morristown High School had its first biannual pep rally. Tensions were high, with Juniors and Seniors neck and neck preceding the rally.
Compared to previous years, this year’s pep rally was by far one of the most interesting ones. SGO put a lot of thought into it, and it showed. Starting off strong with entrances, the band performed a heart pounding introduction to the rally, the football team had an opening that caused some laughs, and the cheer teams had some impressive performances. Games then kicked off; mostly sports-related ones that were naturally a little hard to follow if it weren’t for the energetic announcements made from the press box crew. Personally, between going back and forth on the field trying to pay attention and trying to take photos, the only time I really knew what was happening was when someone scored a goal, or when the announcer graciously described the movements of players. It’s important to note that throughout all of this, the marching band was playing tunes to add to the atmosphere (including Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go” of course), which would sometimes clash with the announcer’s music, resulting in an array of questionable combinations. Persevering through the ten things happening at once, minigames finally started.
When I saw pool noodles and pizza boxes making their arrival on the field, I was confused as to exactly what would come next. A pizza-eating contest? Some sort of building competition? I was intrigued when it was announced that it was instead some sort of sword fighting-like game, with the goal being to not drop your box. I got close to the ring and waited for the game to start. After about thirty seconds of intense pool noodle fighting, I started to hear groans of cheating. Participants and SGO members were pointing out players doing significantly better than the rest, and it was soon discovered that some people had poked holes in the bottom of their pizza boxes, making them easier to grip. Arguments began to break out, but at that point there wasn’t much that could be done – the game couldn’t be stopped. About halfway through, with most of the teachers pizza-boxless, Mr. LaVigne held on strong, decimating many of the student players. As the game came to an end, the seniors won (but with some backlash).
Some of the other games included a hula hoop rock-paper-scissors race and the dodgeball game. One of the SGO members explained that the goal was for each team to hit the other teams’ targets, which would cause an unsuspecting SGO member to be soaked with a bucket full of water. Whatever class was left standing would win. Again, Seniors continued to dominate. As a photographer, I spent the whole game trying to get a shot of someone getting dunked with water on the Junior team, which never happened.
After a couple more games, the pep rally came to a close as some students desperately attempted to leave to go to lunch. Juniors were still barely in the lead, but as had happened in previous years, the general belief was that the seniors would somehow find a way to gain a bunch of points at the last minute. There were certainly mixed feelings about the pep rally, with the cheating scandal taking the center. For the next week, no one knew who had won, but unsurprisingly, it was announced that the Seniors got the delayed opening. The pep rally this year was very interesting, and had a lot of effort put into it. Hopefully, next year’s pep rally will be just as engaging, and maybe some classes other than the Seniors will win.