This year’s pep rally comes with an unprecedented, soon-to-be tradition for Haverford: class t-shirts.
On November 27th, students from each class had the chance to participate in the newly-conceived “Color Wars”, in which they wore a class t-shirt to the Haverford pep rally to show their school and class spirit.
Ms. Viguers, one of the class sponsors, played a role in developing the idea; her own high school took part in a similar tradition. To boost its appeal, Haverford has dubbed it “Color Wars.”
Each shirt follows a different color scheme with a phrase based on the “Keep Calm” meme. Ms. Warren, one of the new freshmen class sponsors, initially came up with the design for the freshmen shirts, featuring the slogan “Keep Calm and Stay Fresh^men.” The pattern stuck and became the basis for all four class shirts.
The seniors’ shirt design consists of red and gold to reflect the school colors, while the other designs feature clashing colors and various symbols, such as a graduation hat and a goat.
The designs will most likely change in the future though. “Next year, it will not be ‘Keep Calm,’ nor do I hope that any of the shirts will be the same,” said Ms. Viguers. “It was a very simple, easy way to start off for at least the first year of this. I wish we had more time, but sometimes it doesn’t work out like that, and we really wanted to make this stick.”
The goal of “Color Wars” is to introduce a new method of fundraising to all four classes through their years in high school. As students buy shirts every year, a portion of the money goes to funding for proms, senior dues, and graduations, all of which are pricey for students without any fundraising.
Profits for classes are not split, so a freshman’s shirt payment will only go to the freshman class, not to other classes.
Ultimately, this year’s freshmen will be the class to profit most from the Color Wars. The newly-introduced fundraiser will not substantially benefit the upperclassmen, but it is a way to establish “Color Wars” at Haverford for years to come.
Reducing the cost of prom tickets and defraying the cost of senior dues takes a lot of effort. “Color Wars” is one way to alleviate such financial burdens, and perhaps more such fundraisers are soon to come.
