Watch as they proudly walk through the hallways in their black and gold class t-shirts and pose in front of “respect your elders” banner hung up on the baseball field fence for photos. The seniors are the oldest and wisest of all the grade level, and for the past three years they have worked hard and have made their mark. Given the seniors deserve only the best, it came as a shock to many in the school when the seniors sat on the field for the Homecoming pep rally.

This is definitely not fair for the seniors, as they were assigned to sit on the turf, separating them from the underclassmen, who all sat in the bleachers with a much better view.

In the past, most pep rallies were held in the school gym. To accommodate the school population, freshmen and sophomores would attend the first pep rally while the juniors and seniors would watch the second. However, this year’s pep rally occurred outside on the turf field, and all grade levels came to the same one.

SGA advisor Ms. Kellinger said, “It’s exciting to have the whole school out at once and since it’s the first pep rally of the year, it’s a good way to unify them.” On the contrary, while the freshmen, sophomores and juniors enjoyed the rally together in the bleachers, the seniors were isolated on the field instead of cheering with the rest of the school.
Not only were the seniors separated from the other grades, they found themselves broken into two separate groups, dividing not only friends, but the overall spirit of the class of 2020. Consequently, the seniors did not enjoy the performance with the same enthusiasm in years past. Senior Lambia Katsigiannakis said, “Splitting up the seniors [made] us feel less spirited, which is why the seniors were a lot quieter than they have been in the past and even quieter than the juniors.” As a result, the lack of energy from the senior class resulted in a homecoming pep rally that was not the exciting experience it has been in past years.

Moreover, even though it was nice to have the whole school out together at the same time, having the seniors sit on the field ruined the event. SGA advisor Ms. Furr said, “it went to the seniors [to sit on the field] because they would be up close to the pep rally.”

While this reasoning is understandable, it was executed poorly considering half of the seniors had a side view, compared to the bleacher spots which were actually the best view of the pep rally.

Senior Sachin Sulkunte said, “I prefer not to sit on the field especially since most of us had to sit on the side so we aren’t actually facing everybody.” If it is absolutely necessary to have a class sit on the ground, these spots should be reserved for underclassmen while the seniors can enjoy the front and center seats.

It was also uncomfortable sitting on the ground. Senior Kush Savsani said, “Sitting on the ground, although closer to the pep rally, is still sitting on the floor and the seniors did not even get seats to sit on.” And although no student at any grade level should have to deal with that, if it is an absolute necessity, the seniors should be the last grade considered for the worst spot, given their seniority. Essentially, seniors were demoted to sitting on the cold hard ground and have every right to be irritated at the situation.

Seniors should leave Richard Montgomery with amazing memories of time spent with friends and teachers, eagerly cheering on our football team, and having a great time at the pep rally.

Unfortuntaely, the memory of the last homecoming pep rally for our class of 2020 will be one of an unpleasant experience on the ground. Both Ms. Kellinger and Ms. Furr said, “I think we could get some feedback from the seniors overall,” which would be a tremendous help in trying to organize seatings for next year so that next year’s seniors will be more satisfied. After all, RM seniors are our pride and joy.