By Steven Witkin ’16

Nobody is really sure what the purpose of our occasional pep-rallies are. Some say they are to recognize the achievements of our varsity athletic teams, since that is what takes up most of each rally. The sports teams get the recognition they deserve, but our school is made up of more than just sports. Sherwood has several non-athletic teams that have competitions and rivalries where the school’s reputation is on the line as much as varsity teams, yet get very little recognition.

Why should the Model United Nations team, which competes for awards in a national conference each year, be relegated to a short announcement in the morning, while some varsity teams that never make it to regional playoffs get announced every pep-rally? The Forensics, It’s Academic, Debate and Mock Trial teams all have rosters, schedules, and results to share, yet do not even get a page on the school website. Even if there is not enough time to acknowledge the achievements of these teams during pep-rallies, it goes against school spirit to give them zero appreciation on morning announcements and online.