School coming back in-person this 2021-2022 school year means bringing back events such as spirit week, pep rally, hallway decorations, homecoming, and more. This year, however, proved to be different despite being in-person due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Spirit week at Eleanor Roosevelt High School lasted three days from Oct 12 to the 16th. Events such as hallway decorations were canceled and the ones that happened had different rules imposed on them. 

The pep rally, powderpuff, homecoming game, and homecoming dance were all scheduled on Saturday, Oct 16th, back to back. Dr. Brian Secker, the coordinator for homecoming events, says “[they] wanted the events to take place after school hours. This would ensure all students could make a choice that was best for them, as it relates to COVID.” He also added that the rules for the events were “similar policies that we have in school, social distancing [and] masking,” assuring that they were enforced through “collaboration between security, administration, and advisories” who “encouraged social distancing and mask-wearing,” as well as making “free masks… available at the gate.” In addition, the pep rally consisted of powder puff. This is when girls play football and boys dance/cheer. It usually took place in the spring rather than the fall.

Furthermore, there were only two teams that performed at the pep rally:  Dem Raider Boyz (DRB) and the African Student Union Dance Team (ASU). Which was another major change because more than two teams usually perform at the pep rally.

For the two teams, the COVID restrictions and change brought about a new challenge in their preparation and performance. “The restrictions… just shorten our time for practice and how we practice,” says Maryanne Njoya, ERHS senior and captain of the ASU dance team. She adds that the change in location for pep rally will impact their performance explaining that “the field is a bigger place than the gym.” Regardless of the changes, she says that she and her team “are not going to let it phase [them].” DRB secretary and ERHS senior Jayden Griffin says that “having pep rally outside was a new challenge for us as a team, but we were super eager and excited to really get out there and put on an entertaining show for everyone in the audience.” 

Some students believe that the changes had the most impact on the homecoming events. ERHS senior Blessing Nwoke says that the COVID restrictions did “not really [effect] spirit week but homecoming,” referencing homecoming being outside and ending earlier than in the past. Njoya added that “the only difference was the mask.”

With events taking place outside rather than the gym due to the pandemic, some students’ excitement was dampened.  Senior Tomi Oke says that it was a school tradition to “do spirit week and have a pep rally at the end of the week… but now we [didn’t] even have a lot to do.” 

As a result of students’ disappointment, some students decided to create their own themes instead. ERHS junior Simona Dike claims that “the restrictions made people go against the rules and make their own days.” Njoya explains that “it was an escape from the regular boring stuff like crazy day.” By changing the themes students were able to show their “creativity from [their] outfits” noted Njoya. 

The changes also affected the expectations of underclassmen that were experiencing spirit week for the first time. Freshman Johana Diaz-Mendoza says that she was expecting to see “homecoming, rallies, [and] see many people being excited.” However, with the changes, those expectations were not met, which she says “disappointed me a lot.” Freshman Demensah Aka adds that she was “expect[ing] a lot of fun activities.” ERHS sophomore Guilia Blough says that “the pep rally on Saturday morning… is kind of inconvenient,” pointing out that many students will be unable to attend due to timing issues. Despite the changes and restrictions, she says that she is still “attending all of [the homecoming events] because I want to have the closest experience to normal that we can have.”

Despite the COVID restrictions and differences it brought onto the spirit week experience, students and teams were still able to make the most out of the chance that they did have.