Kickoff rally brings new twists to old traditions

The first rally of the year on Sept. 11 was different from many previous rallies in that it contained elements and activities that had not been introduced before and tried to maintain a more positive and inclusive tone, including a heavy emphasis on students not using the traditional “go home, freshmen,” chant.

The rally’s storyline followed a mystery format, reminiscent of Scooby Doo, though it was tweaked with changes that were specific to Saratoga, such as a plot revolving around football coach Tim Lugo being captured by Spanish teacher Bret Yielding.

Cheers, applause and laughter filled the gym as the skit progressed and the games began shortly afterwards. Performances from the marching band, dance team, and cheer team occurred in the intervals between each game, displaying new talent from the freshmen and other new additions to these groups. The games, however, had only one game that involved competition among the classes.

“We've tried to tone down the class-to-class rivalry as a response to what happened at the last rally,” senior rally commissioner Zhan Ng said. “We thought that the first rally of the year needed to build unity between classes instead of competition like it did in the past.”

Since the last rally of the 2014-2015 school year ended in a scuffle between a couple of student participants, this change in protocol served as evidence of peacekeeping and practicing cooperation among students.

Instead of focusing on inter-class rivalry, the games featured teacher participation and competition between groups like water polo and field hockey players.

“We added teachers to the games as a way of boosting teacher attendance,” Ng said. “This way, teachers could cheer for their colleagues during the games.

Teachers like Arnaldo Rodriguex found the rally to be a great success. Rodriguex even contacted activities director Rebeca  Marshburn through an email in which he said he had been waiting for a rally like this one for many years.

Ng also said that students in the past have enjoyed seeing their favorite teachers partake in the rallies, proving teacher inclusion to be a win-win element.

An additional aspect to this year’s first rally was the lack of the age-old tradition of chanting “go home freshmen.” Rally commissioners and class officers posted in their respective grades’ class groups on Facebook conveying the warning that if the chant were to start, administration might shut the rally down.

The posts and warnings proved successful, as the only chants of animosity were directed from juniors to seniors and vice versa, though even these chants died down within a minute or so.

The changes displayed in the rally set a precedent of what is to be expected for the three other rallies this year. Though the changes were surprising to some, the reception was largely positive.

“The gym was pretty much loud the entire time, and I think [the rally] was a great way of enhancing our school spirit,” junior Kedar Tallak said. “I think it's safe to say the first rally was a success, and I can’t wait to see what more they’ll bring to the table this year.”