Homecoming Pep Rally Cancelled due to Student Behavior

The pep rally for Samo’s homecoming football game was cancelled on October 3 due to the poor behavior of 10^th, 11^th and 12^th grade students at their rules assemblies, according to school principal, Eva Mayoral.“Yesterday [October 2], as collective groups of 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders, you tossed civility and compassion to the wind,” Mayoral said in her address to the student body on October 3^rd. “You have shown us an unwillingness to gather with respect and civility, thereby undermining our faith that we can hold a safe pep rally.”Mayoral said that she worried that in the hypothetical situation a more serious event occurred, for example a shooter being on campus, students wouldn’t have been able to hear and respond to directions from an authoritative figure due to their behavior.“The problem is if 700 students in Barnum [Hall] can’t have proper etiquette, then 3,000 students in the Greek [Amphitheatre] won’t have proper etiquette either,” Mayoral said. “If [students] can’t hold the etiquette to make us [the administration staff] feel that we can be safe in the Greek, then we can’t be in the Greek.”According to Associated Student Body (ASB) member and I-House Representative Yahn Bruggeman (’16), the cancellation interrupted ASB's planning for the event.“We [ASB] spent weeks maybe months planning all the homecoming events, including picking songs, making decorations and working out homecoming court," Bruggeman said. "All of ASB was extremely disappointed due to the amount of effort that went into making the rally happen, and how it was being cancelled on such short notice."Samo’s cheerleading team was also planning a performance for the pep rally as well, according to cheer coach Amy Meadors."Cheer has spent about 3 weeks preparing their routine for the rally." Meadors said. "We purchased music and outfits that complimented the theme of the routine. All in all we spent around $1500 and lost about three weeks practicing."ASB member Jackie Forsyte (’16)said that cancellation of the pep really affects the entire student population, even those who were fitting the behavioral expectations.“Although I do agree that students were incredibly disrespectful at the rules assembly, I believe that cancelling the rally was not the right solution,” Forsyte said. “This punishes the wrong students, such as the students in ASB who worked incredibly hard to pull the rally together, the football team who trained everyday to win games and deserve praise and respect, the students in the homecoming court who worked hard on their campaigns, cheer who trained intensely to perfect their routines and other groups of students.”Mayoral said that she understands ASB’s disappointment, and is sorry for the series of events following the rules assemblies.“I am pained by the fact that the ASB members, cheerleaders, football players and seniors won’t get a homecoming pep rally, and I’m especially hurting for those who worked on the pep rally and behaved appropriately,” Mayoral said. “But [the rally] still has to be safe. It’s not about an assertion of power; it’s about respect, and doing the right thing. No amount of money or pre-work is ever going to trump my need to keep students safe.”Mayoral said that she is planning a separate celebration for the freshmen because of their behavior at the assembly and their implementation of those rules, including honoring and respecting others.“I really want to focus on how we can grow from this event,” Mayoral said. “There needs to be this reciprocity of respect. Everyone is at school to either learn, or to help other people learn, and with whomever you meet, there needs to be an underlying respect. People need to respect other people because they’re humans. Human beings deserve respect.”osherman@thesamohi.com