Roosevelt’s assembly tradition raises controversy among students, teachers, and administration. Does it cause more harm than good?
Boo! Do you feel welcomed?
This question may seem strange, but to the incoming freshmen and upperclassmen who came to Roosevelt High School as freshmen, it is anything but. Every student at Roosevelt who started as a freshman can remember their first assembly, and the rather odd welcome from the upperclassmen.
It’s hard to forget getting booed by the whole school.
At the start of every school year, we celebrate with our homecoming assembly to welcome students and staff and get excited for the new year. A huge part of this first assembly is welcoming the freshmen to the Roosevelt community. For many years, it has been an unspoken agreement among the upperclassmen to boo the freshmen at assemblies, a long-lasting tradition at Roosevelt.
In the past, teachers and principals have discouraged booing the freshmen, but have recently made it especially clear that they want to end the booing. Students were not deterred, however, and continued to boo the freshmen.
With this continuing battle between staff and students, we must ask the question: Is booing the freshmen something we should put a lot of energy into stopping?
Junior Vincent Dotta said, “It divides the classes, and is very hateful to boo the freshmen.” When asked if unity between grades is important, Dotta said, “I don’t want anyone to feel unwanted in our school.”
However, while Dotta is opposed to booing the freshmen, he also believes there is a larger division among Roosevelt students: “Sexism and racism …by most people in the school is a disease.”
Agreeing with Dotta’s point that there are more urgent problems that need to be addressed, one senior stated, “It’s a rite of passage into Roosevelt, … every freshman has gone through this, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.” The senior went on to explain that when they were a freshman, they understood the tradition, and weren’t affected by it in a negative way.
A sophomore said, “If we got booed [as freshmen], it’s only fair to boo the [new] freshmen.” The sophomore went on to explain how it’s something “everyone has to experience.”
Surprisingly, one freshman responded with, “I love it! — It’s fun because it makes it more exciting, and I have heard it’s been a tradition, and I see no reason to end it.” It’s interesting to think that this small tradition at Roosevelt has reached the incoming freshmen before it even happens, preparing them for the inevitable.
When asked about what other freshmen think about being booed, “All my friends say they are okay with it and that they enjoyed it,” they said.
In recent years, the freshmen have started booing the upperclassmen back. One senior said, “It threw me off guard at first. I mean, we never did that as freshmen.” It’s interesting how as the years continue, students are becoming more bold at a younger age.
In response to this, an anonymous freshman said, “It just felt right to boo the upperclassmen back.”
Even though many upperclassmen are in support of booing the freshmen, it is still good to hear from the freshmen interviewed, that they don’t seem to be bothered or demeaned by this tradition. They are in fact, showing their own confidence by booing the upperclassmen back.
Booing the freshmen at assemblies is a fun tradition for a large majority of students who participate in the activity at assemblies. It adds another level of excitement to assemblies and is a fun thing for all the upperclassmen to participate in.
Additionally, the freshmen interviewed get a kick out of it and are even more excited when it’s their turn. Booing the freshmen doesn’t have any ill will behind it — it is merely a part of Roosevelt — and the students have no intentions of stopping anytime soon.
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