In implementing new rule, did the school cross a line?

October 17, 2017 — by Jayne Zhou and Krithi Sankar

While the new line rule was well intentioned, it is an overreaction to the actual issue of rally fights. 

“And the winners are … The freshmen!” the rally commissioners announced as many in the crowd booed in dismay at the Homecoming rally on Sept. 29. Several seniors even left the gym early in protest, and eventually sophomores and juniors followed.

Amidst the confusion, one question rang out: “How did the freshmen win?”

As it turned out, their victory came because of a new point system and a new rule that no students can cross a gray line on the gym floor without losing 100 points.

The freshmen ended up winning 200 points for their decorations and losing no points for line crossing. However, the seniors, rally commissioners said the seniors lost between 100-200 points because of the new line rule and failed to achieve their traditional place atop the podium.

Initially, this rule was implemented in response to fighting that had broken out between a few seniors and juniors during the first rally of the year. While the new rule is well intentioned, we think it is an overreaction to the actual issue.

After all, fights during rallies have been rare — almost unheard of.

The exact dynamics of who made the new rule and under what circumstances aren’t totally clear. The rally commission handles almost all decisions regarding rallies, according to activities director Matt Torrens, but they clearly felt pressure to avoid incidents such as fights when they made the now widely hated line rule.

In general, there needs to be discussion between both the administration and rally commission to recognize what makes the most sense and balances safety with common sense.

Additionally, the rally commissioners needs to make sure that there’s clear communication with the teachers who serve as judges about how and when to add or remove points.

Because teacher judges vary from rally to rally, they should not bear responsibility for taking off points. This confusion contributed to the outrage at the Homecoming rally, where seniors and sophomores were angered by the freshmen class win even though they were the classes with the highest number of points before deductions.

Torrens also explained how the creation of the new teacher judges caused confusion during the second rally.

“I think the second rally had a lack of communication and the rally commission is doing a lot right now to try to address that,” Torrens said. “They're going to talk to the judges sooner, they're going to identify who's the one who's taking points off and who they can talk to [for any problems].”

Another major problem: Rallies exist for students to show class and school spirit. However, due to the new line rule, classes were unable to show as much spirit and felt restricted, because there wasn’t enough space to cheer on their peers at rally games.

With the rule, students have a mere 33 inches of space between the bleachers and the line, meaning they can no longer rush to congratulate their fellow classmates without risking a penalty.

The new line rule especially affects larger classes, such as the sophomores, and it is a something of a downer for seniors who are trying to celebrate their last year of high school with all-out enthusiasm.

Our suggestion is  to dispose of the new line rule entirely and communicate clearly with the teacher judges about how to best award points. Which class has the best spirit shouldn’t hinge on who can stay behind an arbitrarily drawn line.

Regardless of who wins the rallies, they have no impact in the real world; they’re just for fun and games. No one will remember who won a rally 10 years from now, so students shouldn’t make a big deal about them, no matter who wins.

 

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