A Comparison of Events at East to Other School’s Events

Mission Road is empty on a Friday afternoon. Football season is about to kick off. Homecoming is around the corner. Lancers parade their way down the street showing all of their school spirit. The Lancer Day Parade is one of East’s defining events, but in no way is East alone in this tradition.

Schools across the Shawnee Mission district share traditions. Small twists are made to each event to make each the schools’ “own,” but East’s customs aren’t as original as people might think.

Every year the Lancer Day Parade takes place in honor of the start of the football season and homecoming. The students at East parade down Mission with their class, clubs or sports. Each group is represented by a themed float.

“The Lancer Day Parade is probably the easiest event to get involved in because if your club isn’t featured in the parade, then you can just participate in your class float,” StuCo Exec. President Carolyn Welter said. “There are a lot of meetings with the classes for planning the float that anyone can attend.”

Many StuCo members agree that the Lancer Day Parade is a fun and easy way to be a part of the school.

“The Lancer Day Parade is the most popular event,” StuCo sponsor, Hannah Pence said, “largely due to the tradition behind it.”

Like East, SM North has a Homecoming Parade.

“The Homecoming Parade is also something the entire student body looks forward to each year,” SM North’s Student Council sponsor Chris Zuck said.

The Bachelor Auction is on its way to becoming a tradition at East. The first auction drew about 50 attendees, and StuCo is now working on having a better attendance at the auction coming up.

“The Bachelor Auction is a new event, so I’m hoping that the second annual Bachelor Auction will attract more people than the first,” Welter said. “With events such as these, it is a matter of repeating them until they become a tradition. Currently, they are in the process of becoming a tradition.”

The original idea for the Bachelor Auction came from South’s Mr. AmeriCAN. During Mr. AmeriCAN, each club nominates a boy to compete in a pageant. Students from South watch the boys compete in four events and bid with cans on the winner in support of the can food drive. The first event is a dance competition. The boys are taught a choreographed dance and have to perform it in front of the crowd. Next, instead of having a swimsuit competition, there is a spirit wear competition. The boys dress up in school spirit wear and have to do a cheer to pump up the crowd. For the third event the nominees have an evening wear competition. They are all walked down the runway by three pageant girls in suits and tuxes. Finally there is a talent competition. They have been known to do anything from singing and dancing to science experiments. Posters are hung around the school and the nominees campaign to get the word out about Mr. AmeriCAN.

“Mr. AmeriCAN was started two years ago and every year the turn out has doubled,” Horner said.

Before every dance at East, the Student Council arranges a spirit week. A different theme is chosen by the Student Council members for every day of the week, and students and staff in the building are encouraged to participate. In the past, students have been awarded for their participation as an incentive for people to dress up. In comparison to SM South’s partaking in spirit week, East does not have a large number of students involved.

“You’re looked at funny if you aren’t dressed up,” South’s junior class president, Meg Horner said.

MORP is a themed informal dance. Students dress up in crazy costumes and pack into the cafeteria to listen to a DJ and dance with friends, while all the proceeds from MORP tickets go towards the can drive.

“MORP and the Lancer Day Parade are the most popular, just because they have been a tradition for so long and people don’t think twice about getting involved,” Welter said. “The upperclassmen get really involved in MORP and the Lancer Day Parade which makes it easier for the underclassmen to get excited about it.”

Last year North hosted a MORP dance, and South hosts a similar dance called Timewarp. Timewarp takes place in the spring, and students dress up in clothes from different eras.

“Timewarp is the most popular dance because kids don’t necessarily go with dates,” Horner said.

StuCo events are publicized with posters and fliers around the school, and on the announcements. More technology is being used now and advertising is being done over Facebook groups, emails, text alerts, and Twitter.

“Low attendance is often due to lack of information, so I think the more we can publicize and promote our events, the better our attendance and involvement is,” Pence said.