The Pep Rally of October 14th in Review

By: Jorge Herrera

Freshman

For the freshmen at Don Soffer Aventura High School, this was their first high school pep rally ever. Any expectations they had would come from the endless pep rally scenes in Disney Channel movies, and this one did not disappoint. However, the freshmen have their own opinions. In an open survey that I conducted, the freshmen, on average, rated it a 7/10, meaning they were pleased, but not as much as they expected.

This was mainly due to what was perceived from the written responses as a lack of enthusiasm. Most of their responses were very bland and ambiguous. They did not go into detail about what they thought the pep rally could have done better, aside from making the activities “more fun.” One could assume that their lack of interest was partly due to the fact that they had to watch the whole spectacle on the hard wooden floors of the Barracuda Gym.

Sophomores

Now the sophomores have already gotten a taste of how ostentatious Don Soffer pep rallies can be, yet this one left them really disappointed. The score from the open survey revealed a 5/10 average satisfaction, meaning they were minimally pleased.

The reason for this dissatisfaction was partly due to the fact that they feel the games are too repetitive. One responder said, “I think we should have different games in each pep rally because musical chairs and tug of war get a little repetitive.” As a fellow sophomore, I understand their position. Another responder cited the lack of sophomore interest in these events as being linked to the lack of comfortable seating, even going as far as saying, “Next time I know a pep rally is happening on a certain day, I will not be showing up and instead skipping school.” The sophomores were clearly the least satisfied class, having record-low ratings of the pep rally, with uncomfortable seating and repetitive games to blame.

Juniors

The juniors have seen their fair share of pep rallies, having been Barracudas for two and a half years. Yet, for this one, the open survey found a satisfaction score of six out of ten points.

This score was attributed to repetitive games and remarkably low levels of engagement.

Aside from that, there was a common consensus that compared to the ones last year, it was better or at least equal. Many juniors also believe that the addition of Mr. and Ms. Soffer High has made the pep rallies flow better, since they are “designated hosts,” relieving some pressure off the shoulders of the SGA organizers who were already trying to rally spirit from their classes.

Seniors

For seniors, this pep rally was their last-first pep rally of high school before heading off to college. When asked to give their feelings on the pep rally, they averaged a satisfaction score of nine out of ten, the highest of any grade in this survey. This high score was credited to their nostalgia of being at one of their last spirit events as Barracudas.