Starting new traditions and honoring old ones

By Caelan Saunders

Editor-in-Chief

Traditions are the foundation of our society. It’s what brings us as a society together, what creates our culture, and determines our relationships and how we act with other people. Traditions are, however, deeply rooted in the past and sometimes that hinders us as a society.

There are many traditions that bring life and happiness like Christmas dinners, family reunions, or even things like spirit weeks and homecoming. These are constructive and enriching traditions that add value to our lives and make them worth living.

However, getting stuck on traditions can also be a detrimental flaw. Saying that there can’t be change or any type of alteration to a tradition is bull headed. It’s wonderful to enjoy traditions for what they are, but if there’s a way to be more inclusive or improve upon it then that route should be taken. An activist against change for the sake of tradition is not truly in the spirit of tradition. It’s a weak argument. Traditions can be changed and altered as the times change to better fit our environment.

People talked about keeping tradition when talking about slavery, women’s rights, and, even more currently, gay marriage. Sometimes things can change for the better and become new tradition. I chose this topic of tradition this month because of the controversial idea of girl Super Fans who are as of now called “The Pink Ladies”. I wasn’t originally sure why it even was a controversial topic. To me it sounded like a fantastic way to get more people involved in school spirit and the support of our football team. However, some Super Fans are upset that girls are even attempting to try to be even similar to Super Fans because it’s a ‘guy thing’ and it’s tradition. It’s these types of traditions that keep us back. Girls should be able to have some kind of club like Super Fans where they can show their undying support and have fun dressing up. It’s more inclusive and it’s not as if Super Fans was that exclusive of a group anyway. We’re improving our school and our traditions.

This is how we build a legacy. This year’s senior girls have built their legacy of being the first girl Super Fans. We’ve built upon tradition. We’re making our mark. This is what tradition is about: making an impact on culture and that’s what Pink Ladies is about and what our school should be about.