The second pep rally of the year caused mixed emotions after the student section noticed the Box Boys weren’t performing. The group was told by the administration not to perform at this particular pep rally, but they would return for future pep rallies.
At the second pep rally, the cheerleaders had more routines, did stunts and tumbled to fill in the time and the drumline moved to the outskirts of the mat to accompany them. Many students were confused about this change and sought answers.
“We were asked to accompany the cheerleaders while they tumbled,” drumline captain senior Gavin Haddox said. “I’m okay with getting less attention but I don’t want to be used as background music. We’re trained musicians and performers so being put into the back is almost an insult to the hours of rehearsal we put into our craft, so I’d rather not perform.”
Representative of Box Boys and drum major senior Scott Mason has been in Box Boys since his sophomore year. He originally joined because remembers his older sister who graduated in 2016 talking about the Box Boys.
Mason said the whole vibe wasn’t necessarily thrown off but definitely different and felt like the pep rally was missing something without them. Many know the Box Boys for their crowd entertainment, and their ability to get themselves and crowd hyped for the upcoming football game. Mason said many people enjoy it and love it when people get involved and have fun.
“Mrs. Lawler approached me originally and she started off by telling us certain requirements that she wanted us to follow,” Mason said. “I know last year it may or may not have gotten a little violent. So we just addressed the regulations that we kind of want to follow so that we don’t promote any violence.”
At the first pep rally of the year, Box Boys made it a test run to have permission if they could continue.
“I know I was telling them how much fun it’s going to be,” Mason said. “Then I had to break the news to them that it wasn’t going to be what it has been in the past. I just had to calm them down and let them know that we just got to do what we can to stay positive.”
Assistant Principal Mrs. Lawler has allowed the Box Boys to continue at every pep rally with the agreement to not show violence.
“In the past, the Box Boys have been kind of an unofficial organization and don’t really have a sponsor,” Mrs. Lawler said. “I think they’ve always gotten time [at pep rallies] just because they’re fun and are thought of as a side part of the band.”
Mrs. Lawler said last year got aggressive with a lot of pushing and ripping cardboard. From her perspective, it looked like hazing.
“It worried me last year and I thought ‘Oh my goodness, I don’t know what to say because I knew if everybody else seems to think it’s okay, then maybe it’s okay,” Mrs. Lawler said. “The more I thought about it, the more it just didn’t sit right with me and I thought this really is not good.”
The administration’s job is to teach students at school that fighting is not an appropriate way to deal with emotion. Mrs. Lawler said when people do that same sort of activity, like in the hallway or bathroom, they’re given a consequence.
“I’m a believer that if people don’t understand the rules, they can’t follow them,” Mrs. Lawler said. “If I was a student, I would feel like that was pretty unfair. I went to the Band directors and said ‘Hey, talk to me about the Box Boys and they were like, ‘We are not their sponsor.’”
The Band directors said that the Box Boys have been shut down before for being violent. Later, they asked if they could bring Box Boys back and promised to not be violent.
“The Band directors agreed that it’s been violent because they know their relational capacity so were not worried about it actually being violent or someone getting hurt,” Mrs. Lawler said. “I got some names of people who were kind of seen as leaders in the group and I talked to them, and they let me know that some of the other kids were still feeling like they really didn’t understand it.”
Mrs. Lawler went to the main band class and talked to the other students who were part of Box Boys and gave them a chance to ask questions. The Box Boys asked if they could perform at the homecoming pep rally.
“They reached out last week and said, ‘Hey we’ve always done homecoming pep rally, is that a possibility’, and I said ‘Yeah, let me know what you’re thinking again’,” Mrs. Lawler said. “Now it’s not just the student body, it’s the entire community.”
Mrs. Lawler reached out to the person in charge of making a schedule and the Box Boys will be able to be on the schedule for the homecoming pep rally.
“Really when it’s all said and done, I think it’ll only be that one [pep rally] that they weren’t part of,” Lawler said. “But from my perspective, the goal is to not shut them down as much as it is to make sure it’s going to be appropriate.”
Mrs. Lawler said as an educator is to make sure that school is about kids, and wants to be able to give the Box Boys a chance if they want to continue. Mason hopes the Box Boys will continue after he graduates.
“I really am trying to motivate the other people to pursue Box Boys as a hobby,” Mason said. “It’s also kind of the reason I didn’t want just to throw away a chance in the beginning. I know a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, they don’t want us to be violent, let’s just do whatever we want,’ but it’s about preserving the longevity of Box Boys because I don’t want to ruin something that many people beyond me can be a part of.”
