Y-E-L-L, Y-E-L-L, Y-E-L-L everybody yell. Go Sequoits, go Sequoits.

A cheer that rings throughout the gym every pep rally and throughout the sky every football game. A cheer that is tradition. A cheer that was smothered by booing. So much booing that the freshmen sat down.

The 2014 homecoming kick-off pep rally came and went with a bang.

What began as an exhilarating celebration Chicago Bulls-style with fall sport introductions soon turned into some of the student body displaying poor behavior towards classes and individuals. We fear that what was meant to be a time of celebration was overshadowed by bitterness. Where was pride when we needed it?

The poor behavior and the resounding boos during a traditional cheer did not stop with the YELL chant. It continued into the tradition of crowning the homecoming king.

Through loud chatter throughout the bleachers, stood the top five males for the senior homecoming court. After opening Mardi Gras bags, Collin Prather was crowned homecoming king. Once receiving his good news, members of the student body booed and shouted discouraging words after realizing that the person they voted for didn’t win. While we recognize the booing may not have been directed toward Collin, the sentiment was still there.

As a staff, it is our belief that some of the members of our school community displayed inappropriate and “un-Sequoit like” behavior. This is not an accurate representation of the proud, responsible and respectful students we all are at Antioch Community High School.We are much better than the behavior at the pep rally. We should take pride in having someone represent our student body as king, especially one who many see as true gentleman. Yet, we chose to go too far. We chose not to support our classmates and instead broke them down. We were not respectful. We were not responsible. We were not proud.

There are plenty more pep rallies to come this school year. For those pep rallies, the Tom Tom staff would like to challenge the students of ACHS to embody respectful, responsible, proud and show fellow our classmates and teachers the respect they all deserve.