A Service of The Arrow             Friday September 29, 2000

   In the interests of promoting student harmony and providing a welcoming atmosphere for sophomores at Flathead High School, the administration has decided to cancel a long-running tradition. While many students are angry about the decision to cancel this year’s homecoming bonfire, they may not realize the severity of incidents that have marred homecoming the past few years.

   While traditions should not be thrown away as easily as last night’s leftovers, the idea of getting rid of homecoming has been tossed around for the past few years. Assistant Principal Mike Hittle points out that the potential for injuries increases every year, and that now is a time for that to end. Not all of homecoming will be disappearing; the parade will still happen, provided that the floats aren’t ruined. In the past seniors, juniors, and sophomores alike have been throwing eggs, toilet paper, and other popular items at each other and the floats. This has led to the cancellation of the parade in previous years.

   The decision to cancel the bonfire was sealed last year. There have been incidents of people caught throwing firecrackers and even gas cans into the fires. The seniors’ actions on sophomore day didn’t strengthen the chances of bringing back the bonfire either. Even touching somebody on the arm when it is unwanted is considered assault; marking on them with a permanent marker is even worse.

   Those things aren’t nearly as bad when compared to what they did to the cars of the sophomores, as well as those of the staff members. Shaving cream, toilet paper, and even latex paint were used to vandalize their vehicles.

   Student council and the administration have been considering alternatives to the bonfire. One is having a "tailgate party." Student council and the administration plan to have many different root beer vendors come, there will be music, and it sounds like a good time, a fun, safe alternative to the bonfire. But a majority of student don’t agree.

   Most students say the bonfire wasn’t too bad; the worst they saw was some marking on people’s arms.

   That wasn’t all that went on though. When a sophomore refuses to be marked on, the seniors will chase him or her, and this has resulted in some injuries over the past. At last year’s bonfire, somebody broke his ankle trying to escape the wrath of the marker-wielding seniors.

   Cowan Clash Day will still be on, in which everybody should come to school wearing clothes that do not go together.

   Class color day, another day that sophomores might dread, is where you come wearing a different colored collar to represent which class you graduate in. Who knows, maybe after a few years they’ll try the bonfire again. If things go smoothly, it may once again be a proud tradition of Flathead High School!

-sophomore Bryan Schulze

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