Freshman insight on school differences

Next week the halls will be filled of spirit in honor of homecoming week. The seniors, juniors and sophomores will be Grammy winners, Emmy winners and ESPY winners. The freshmen on the other hand, will wear hats, socks and capes. If we are considered the same school through state test scores, why are we treated as two different schools? Homecoming is a prime example of exactly how different we are treated. On Friday night we all gear up to support the same team but this coming week the schools are divided to the extreme.

With all the excitement of the homecoming festivities the freshmen are often left out of the loop. Freshmen are not allowed to participate in the homecoming dance, without being asked by an upperclassman, unlike other schools in the area and district. With every pep-rally, freshmen are once again alienated from the high school unable to experience the excitement of high school football. This year the freshmen were left out yet another time when it came to purchasing homecoming t-shirts. When it comes to homecoming interaction, there is little to none with the freshmen. However, four freshmen are given the opportunity to participate in homecoming court with the rest of the school.

Both schools are known as the Sparkman Senators, both play on the same fields and both share teams. Many classes are even offered at the opposite school. If we share the same facilities, classrooms and teams why are we constantly divided? Communication between the different schools needs to be enforced and freshman involvement needs to be encouraged.

When it comes down to it, year after year the freshman class is overlooked and ignored. Although we may be under two different roofs, we are all a Sparkman family.