How did you feel as a freshmen at Fossil? Did you feel a part of the school culture? It’s apparent that this year’s new class doesn’t feel that way. When asked about how she felt the upperclassmen view the new class, freshmen Jordan Manning responded, “They hate us.”

It’s largely considered a high school tradition for upperclassmen to “bully” freshmen, but just because something is “tradition”, does that still make it ok to do? Whether it be pushing freshmen to the back at football games, the old tradition of “The Freshmen Kiss”, or booing freshmen at the opening assembly, such actions degrade the importance of R.I.D.G.E. standards and create negative social norms.

Assistant principal Brad Nye vocalized his opinions on upperclassmen behaviors, by stating that sometimes, “seniors don’t understand the ramifications of their actions.” Innocent though it may seem, the simple act of booing a freshmen reverses the work of many student groups that aim to unite and create school culture. Ambassadors, STUCO, Ridge Link, Ridge TV, Theatre, are just a few examples. Groups like these are involved in the freshman transition day, and aim to integrate the new class into the student body. By taking part in these derogatory actions, what does this do to the work of countless student organizations?

The hypocrisy of our actions is magnified if we consider how every student at school takes part in Rachel’s Challenge, the program created by the family of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine shooting.  At the end of the sophomore Chain Reaction day for instance, students sign each other’s “Got Your Back” sheet and create a commitment between peers that they will support each other in times of hardship. The event is successful in empowering students with a loving and passionate message. However, students seem to forget to carry it through the rest of their high school career, “We always say to kids, ‘let’s not let this change happen for only one week,’ but it still does,” said Nye.

Freshmen having their own locker bay also doesn’t help the situation. If we put the freshmen upstairs, completely separated from upperclassmen, what does this say about our school’s desire to make people feel united? It suggests that they are different from everyone else and aren’t capable of being around upperclassmen. If the worry is that freshmen will fall into making bad choices, for example, to smoke or to get into drugs, we are suggesting that people can’t stand up for themselves and say no. Being able to defend oneself is a part of growing up, and if we are preventing new classes from learning this skill, as a school we aren’t effective in preparing people for the rest of their lives. The decision to give freshmen their own locker bay was done in the founding of the school, in Nye’s words, “Parents and families felt most comfortable with the decision to keep them separate, when Fossil was being formed the staff worked with parents and came up with that opportunity,” it’s a facet of Fossil Ridge that makes us unique and it’s appealing to some parents. By keeping them away from upperclassmen, they don’t have to worry about busy hallways, and have all of their classrooms within a short distance of the locker bay.Yet clearly, there are other results that come from this separation.

Ever wondered what happened to “The Freshmen Kiss”? The tradition was an old Fossil event at opening assemblies where four freshmen boys were tricked into believing they were going to be kissed by a cheerleader, but instead, kissed by their moms. Nye believes students think of the event as, “an innocent activity,” yet however, for the four freshmen boys who were tricked, it may not be innocent at all. Public embarrassment doesn’t yield a connection to the student body. As a result, STUCO has stopped doing this activity.

Some freshmen believe that this treatment comes as part of being a newcomer to the school. Freshmen Reilly Madrick believes that “getting crap” from upperclassmen is expected. “I don’t think they are trying to make us feel bad,” he said, stating that his older brother had given him the rundown of “freshmen treatment” prior to entering high school. Olivia Zadkovic agreed, “they try to make it scarier than it is,” Yet freshmen Jordan Manning, who stated previously, “they hate us,” proves that this isn’t a universal belief.

To reverse this new trend of bullying freshmen, the student body needs to take the initiative and create change. Students have to be against this treatment and call each other out on what they see. Teachers and administrators can only do so much. They can lead us to the water, but they can’t make us drink it.

What do you think? Should students be more mindful of their actions? Or is being picked on a part of being a freshmen? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.