Douglas MacArthur High School - MacArtair Yearbook (Houston, TX)

Page 15 text:

Wt With the refrain of the school fight song calling them in, 1000 excited students crowded into the gym. Cheerlead- ers were shouting, the band was blaring Big Red and the crowd was roaring. This was a common Friday morn- ing scene at MacArthur - a pep rally to promote school spirit. During the course of the pep rally, cheers would be led, the school song would be played, a standing ovation would be given to Coach Finley and the football team, and students would battle for the spirit stick by shouting a cheer for their class. The coveted award would be pre- sented to the grade-level that had shown the most school spirit throughout the week. A panel of teachers decided the winner of the spirit stick by casting votes in favor of the class that had had the largest number of students at the poster parties, the best posters for the football game, and the most enthusi- asm at the pep rally. Ballots were collected by cheerlead- ers, tallied, and the winner was announced to the anxious mob. For three weeks classes vied for the red and white wandp however, what began as friendly competition soon became fierce rivalry. At the tie time of the Northshore football game the seniors and the freshman had literally quit trying to win, according to Ms. Angie Joachim, co- sponsor of the cheerleaders. That left the juniors and the sophomores to battle it out. 2 Cook their goose Creferring to Baytown's gandersj could have been one of Sharon Jordan's and Debbie Wisenbaker's pos- ter slogans that they labored many hours over. '- Wd Shoot the bird. Robert Garamillo inno- cently paints a slogan for the gander game spirit I I

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I0 spirit ..,-f Get down Terry Johnson and Beth Hessler do a spirit dance as Beth accepts 3 the spirit stick on behalf of the juniors. Li, .ttr W.. ..srs 111, '--..,n-... Paint man paint. Carl Sligar paints one of the many posters which enabled the ' juniors to capture the spirit stick time Q after time. I -0. S 'A Sprinkle a day will keep Coach Finley away. Caroline Khalaf sprinkles gold dust on Coach Gaylard Finely at the night pep rally. Y 8 fl :si .5 ,Q v Color my world. Margaret Garamillo and Joe De Anda practice being creative ' on their poster. 'f -1 I XXX

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12 spirit Beginning with the Homecoming pep rally the spirit stick no longer existed. The students lost all reason . . . They stopped supporting the team and began supporting individual classes, said Ms. Angie Joachim, cheerleader sponsor. The judges Call four class sponsors, as well as other teachersj and the class presidents discussed the situa- tion and came to a unanimous decision -the spirit stick had to go. lt had defeated its purpose . . . It no longer aroused school spirit, but caused hostility among the stu- dents, commented Mr. Charles Myer, the cheerleaders' co-sponsor. Although doing away with the spirit stick decreased the attendance at the remaining pep rallies, many students considered it a step in the right direction. Junior Caroline Khalat, a varsity cheerleader said, Kids have to realize that just winning a stick isn't school spirit. . .Those that showed up for the last pep rallies were the ones that really cared. They weren't there for personal glory. Mrs. Nancy Thurman, junior class sponsor, remarked, School spirit cannot be found in a stick: it must come from the students that make up the school. 9 - . Spirit stick defeats its purpose nf t jfss T