Rally Commission searches for answers

Rally commissioners are trying to build rallies into well-attended events.

If the rally commission has its way, students hoping to enter classrooms on rally Fridays will find doors closed and locked.

The commissioners tried this for the December rally, but had lackluster results.

“It was the first rally where we suggested to the teachers that they close their doors,” senior rally commissioner Bronwen Bowen said. “But many teachers were hesitant about this and didn’t end up doing so, so the turnout wasn’t much bigger than previous rallies.”

Rally commissioner Isa Berardo said that it would be ideal to get closed tutorials for rallies in order to see more participation from the students.

Bowen said that the number of rallies was cut down from eight last year to only around three or four this year — the motive being to try and use the fewer number of rallies in order to make students more excited to attend.

“We also hoped that by having fewer rallies, teachers would be more willing to close their rooms for tutorials, but unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet,” Bowen said.

Junior Natalie Miller said that the rally commission was also working with the office at the end of last year to change the school schedule on rally days. This would allow for a designated time rallies had every time they were hosted.

“We were thinking that by having a different schedule on rally days, more students would come to the rally,” Miller said. “Our goal is to fill up the middle bleachers — we want [the gym] to be overflowing.”

However, rally commission adviser and guidance counselor Eileen Allen said that selecting a designated time for a rally could pose potential problems.

“Technically there isn’t enough room in the gym for everyone to fit, so holding an event where all students are forced to attend would prove problematic,” Allen said.

Other students, including sophomore Nihar Agrawal, dislike the idea of forcing more student to attend.

“Although I think rallies are a great way to increase spirit and school participation, I don’t think they should be made into a mandatory obligation,” Agrawal said. “People should still be given the option to use tutorials.”

According to Allen, closed tutorials is the best way to increase student participation at rallies; however, she admits that even this idea may not work out.

“It’s difficult because a lot of teachers really value the tutorial period, and remain hesitant about closing their doors,” Allen said. “Because of this, closed tutorials aren’t something we can mandate, but rather encourage.”