Students comfortably spread out along various bleachers, quietly waiting. All students are at the same level, ground level; There is no senior privilege, no seniority. Each student has adequate room to comfortably sit and stretch their legs, and every student can see perfectly while sitting—there is no reason to stand. The football players storm through their banner and onto the court with music blaring; the students, still seated, calmly clap. The MCs sing the alma mater; the students sit and watch. Half of the student body, watching the cheerleaders and MC’s backs, sit there, uninvolved and detached. 

   This is the definition of hype. 

   The school has always discussed moving the pep rallies to the RAC, and this year, administration finally decided to make the move.  

   But after two pep rallies of awkwardness and silence, it is clear moving to the RAC removed the pep from the rally. 

   Pep rallies ooze tradition–from the songs to the dances to the seating — pep rallies embody the history of the Trinity family. 

   Now, seniors and juniors, accustomed to excitedly rushing upstairs to flood the DAC weight room, quietly enter the normal entrance to the RAC and sit in the bleachers–just like everyone else. Something about standing in the confined upstairs of the DAC brought out the best of the grades, and led to loud raucous cheers during the spirit competitions. 

   The pep rallies in the DAC actually served their purpose–they got the student body excited for the sports game that night and filled the school with spirit. Proponents of the RAC mention the extra space, better lighting and better sound; however, in reality, these factors only hurt the new pep rallies. With the lack of space in the DAC, there was minimal sitting. To see, you had to stand, and standing led to more active participation in the pep rallies and more excitement all around. 

   Due to being in a tight and packed space, there was a certain energy in the DAC. The lack of space brought the school together, while the current setup increases separation and division. The DAC was loud and filled with cheers; the RAC is quiet, with ceilings too high and walls too broad to capture the noise. Pep rallies are only as good as the school participation, and in the RAC, participation is clearly lower.

   The gigolo dance, a Trinity tradition of dancing with “hands up high and feet down low” has transformed from an exciting part of every pep rally to what could only be homeless meerkats looking for direction. A sad sight for sure. 

 And yes, in both the RAC and the DAC there is awkward laughing while the football players answer trivia, and in both, the current junior class fails to participate in spirit competitions or show any semblance of school spirit. It is not solely the location’s fault that we show no spirit, but it clearly doesn’t help. 

   “I feel like vibes at pep rallies have been much different ever since we moved them to the RAC,” senior and head cheerleader Ashley Garcia said. “Our school just looks so much smaller since we’re all so spread out, and it just feels weird for me and all the other cheerleaders because we have to cheer while facing both sides of the gym. Other than that, I personally don’t really have a huge problem with it, it’s just something new that I think a lot of people have to get used to.”

   Over the years, safety has become a chief source of concern with the DAC. 

 “Well, part of [the reasoning to move to the RAC] is a safety issue,” cheerleading coach Rylan Smith said. “In the DAC, you can only hold 864 people, and when you count in our student body and our faculty, you have a fire hazard there. Whereas the RAC can hold over a thousand.”

   Safety is important, but were fires invented last year? If potential fire hazards were a real issue, the school should have moved pep rallies years ago. If the movement to the RAC due to safety really was non-negotiable, partition the RAC and limit the space. Make the student body stand, cheer, feel the sense of camaraderie and you know, actually participate (a sad sight at the last few pep rallies). Fight to move the pep rallies back to the DAC. There’s only our storied tradition at stake.