Should Junior Olympics Be Cancelled?

In the last edition of the Maroon, they ran a small editorial describing the possibility that Junior Olympics might be cancelled due to the mischievous behavior that goes on the night before. It caused quite a stir among students, especially juniors who responded with outrage.  The junior class government, along with their faculty advisors, is trying to plan safe activities leading up to the games.

While the article sparked fury among students, Mr. Klemme decided it was important to evaluate the success of the games after the trouble has escalated over the past few years – from egging and keying cars to jumping on speeding cars.  While some students argue nothing truly awful has happened, Mr. Klemme asked if we had to wait for someone to get killed to stop Junior Olympics. While most students think what happens the night before it is not the school’s business because it’s not on school grounds, the school cannot in good conscience endorse an activity where such behavior occurs, whether it is on or off school property.

Another issue is that several students showed up to school on the day of Junior Olympics intoxicated.  If Junior Olympics continues, all students will probably have to take a Breathalyzer test before participating in the games. Most students are angry because only a handful of kids are truly misbehaving which could ruin a highlight of junior year for everyone. While juniors this year say they will be better than the past nine grades, others admit that if they were to have Junior Olympics kids would still get into the same kind of trouble.  

The junior class faculty advisors met with the administration last Thursday to decide whether they would have Junior Olympics or not. It seems that the games will be cancelled for this year and in all subsequent years, although the final decision is not official. There doesn’t seem to be an activity that the school can host the night before that kids will go to instead of engaging in malicious behavior.  It’s a shame that a small group of kids who got out of hand every year have to ruin it for all the years to come. The Olympics themselves are truly fun and enjoyable, and it is a great opportunity to reunite with your friends from elementary school. While the Junior Olympics was a great way for juniors to rejoice as their particularly rough school year comes to a close, the school doesn’t seem to have a choice because they can’t think of a way to effectively eliminate the problems that arise the night before.

What do you think? Enter your comments below!

Melissa Tucker is a sophomore at Scarsdale High School