Each year, a number of senior boys sign up to join Boms and perform school-choreographed group dances to pop songs—like “All the Single Ladies” by Beyoncé—during spirit events. However, this RM tradition was absent during this fall’s pep rally, and will be absent in the upcoming winter pep rally, according to the SGA.

Instead, there will be a new teacher-student Mean Girls dance. “We hope to continue that tradition,” SGA spirit coordinator and junior Udy Mbanaso said. 

The Boms boys, led by the RM Poms team, typically do two to three performances per year. They have a reputation for putting on “a comedic performance,” although the effort put into the routine is nothing to laugh at. It is seen as a senior tradition unique to the boys. In a past Tide article, Garett Suhr, a graduate of the class of 2019, said, “I felt like it was my duty as a senior male to hold the tradition and do Boms.” 

Participation in Boms diminished this year with the class of 2023. “Not enough people showed up for Boms practice, so [we] weren’t able to teach a routine,” Boms coach Megan Caulfield said. Caulfield, along with her co-coaches, held an interest meeting and used word of mouth to recruit Boms members, who filled out an online form to participate and were later notified of the meeting dates. 

However, few students were available to attend the meetings, possibly due to other commitments. “This fall was the first ‘normal’ year in a while and it seemed that everyone wanted to do everything but didn’t have time to do it all,” RM history teacher Christopher Hinsvark said.

Overall, the RM student body seems disappointed by the absence of Boms at the pep rally. “I think it’s sad that the Boms, which are such an iconic group, weren’t here this year,” junior Abby Adissu said. “I really do hope they return next time.”