Something is missing from this year’s pep rallies. The number of smiling faces is minimal, the sight of excited fans is rare, and hilarious dancing students are gone. Where’s all the pep?
The administration decided there would be no recorded music played at pep rallies. The Chamblee sound crew now sets up the PA, mixing board, and all of the microphone equipment to satisfy the needs of one measly microphone.
If the administrators wish to be heard, why don’t they just buy a cute blue megaphone That would even help get rid of the gym of aching feedback and free administrators from the embarrassment of tripping over the pesky microphone cords.
When the sound crew consulted Ms. Finke about the matter, she told us the reason for canceling music during the pep rallies was to spotlight our magnificent band program. She said it is important to let the kids of Chamblee play the music since they practice so diligently and rarely receive recognition. The sound crew was disappointed that their well-selected, uplifting, and clean–not to mention peppy–music would never be played at any pep rallies.
After the first pep rally, having noticed the absence of band music as students spilled out of the gym, the sound crew hurriedly packed up the equipment and went to find Mr. Hatmaker, the Chamblee band director. The sound crew asked Mr. Hatmaker if they could have permission to play music at the end of the pep rallies. This would give band members enough time to retrieve their books and rush to the bus-loading zone. Mr. Hatmaker found no problem with the mutually beneficial compromise.
Ms. Finke, however, responded with a firm, “No,” although she had recently agreed to bring the topic up at the meeting of administrators. The true meaning of the ploy to keep music out of the gym is revealed: make Chamblee students unhappy. How else would one defend discontinuing a worthwhile tradition that multiplies the number of smiling faces in Chamblee’s student population?
Pep rallies were meant to prepare anxious students to be supportive Bulldogs, not spotlight our magnificent and somewhat overrated band program. It seems as though the administration wished the pep rallies to be totally pep-free.
I believe the response to this imperious decision might result in more loss of control than the playing of any innocent song could. Hopefully, the sound crew’s grievance is being respectfully considered, though it is doubtful Bulldog fans will be getting krunk to anything more than the Chamblee band’s “fight song.” Is this an example of the hypocrisy on behalf of the administration? No, just a bit of incidental irony! For now, the sound crew will not play recorded music, for the administration says this provokes violence.
