Censorship has brought Spirit Week activities to a new low. In the last ten years, Episcopal has tried to make the activities leading up to EA/Haverford/AIS weekend Lower School-friendly, in order to create a sense of school unity; however, this attempt has taken away from Upper School tradition, and activities like the pep rally have become geared towards the Lower and Middle Schools. While there is no doubt that it is important to build a sense of cooperation and integration throughout the entire school, the Upper School’s enjoyment of Spirit Week festivities should not be compromised.
Images of obliterating Ford cars and the good old days of cheering on our athletes at the top of our lungs have vanished. The once anticipated events have been replaced by G-rated student body competitions, and the formerly infamous pep rally now thrills the Lower and Middle School students more than it motivates the Upper School athletes themselves. Even the EA/Haverford/AIS shirt designs have been altered to cater to Lower School students; any suggestion of violence has been banned from the designs.
The change regarding Spirit Week and Pep Rally protocol should not have taken place without the input and consent of the Upper School students. Athletes train to play in the most anticipated games of the year, and a pep rally that does not effectively capture the hype and excitement of the competitions due to censored content is disheartening to say the least.
It is time for the Upper School to enjoy Spirit Week as it used to. Episcopal must develop a system in which all three sectors of the school can equally enjoy the exhilaration of days leading up to the final showdown. If it is necessary to have one pep rally for the entire school that is Lower School-friendly, and a separate one for the Upper School, then two should occur. Those participating in the competitive sporting events should be those most stimulated because it is they who achieve the ultimate goal of Spirit Week: winning the treasured Sweater and Banner.