This year’s pep rally was different from most years prior. Usually, Springbrook’s Student Government Association plans a pep rally for the first Friday of the school year and another one to promote the fall sports. But this year, Springbrook did not have the pep rally at the beginning of the year, which hypes students up for the new school year. Without that pep rally on Friday, the underclassmen had no energy. Without the pep rally, the underclassmen couldn’t see the rest of the school’s energy and couldn’t get hyped that way.

At the fall pep rally, the seniors came dressed in togas, putting their school spirit on for all to see. Juniors did not keep quiet, battling the seniors for the most school spirit. But the freshmen were silent. When Sandra Ihugoun, the co-president of the Senior Class Council, asked the crowd “Freshmen, is this your house? Whose house is it?” there was dead silence.

Freshmen don’t know that to expect at a pep rally, which is why the pep rally at the beginning of the year is necessary. The underclassmen learn what to expect and sense the energy of the classes ahead of them at the first pep rally so they’re not too scared or shy to show school spirit. Ihugoun acknowledged in an interview that the school spirit “sucks” this year.

But crowd participation wasn’t the only factor preventing a successful pep rally this year. Usually, a DJ plays music on the field to hype up the students. This year, several students, including two involved in the planning process of the rally, alleged that a student was merely holding their iPhone into a microphone in the booth overlooking the field, preventing students from hearing the music well and moving to it. The SGA and Senior Class Council have denied the rumors, but students still see the event as a major failure.

Correction: March 12, 2020

The original version of this article neglected the apostrophe in “year’s.” All errors have been corrected in the current version of the article.