By Jack Weaver ’15 | Staff Writer

South is used to sticking to the tradition that students engraved within the school decades ago, yet this year a different spin was put on the pep assembly, Student Association (SA) Treasurer Aynslie Fritz ’14 said.

“I thought the pep assembly went well and had a lot of new things that surprised everyone,” said Fritz. “Some people put a high value on tradition, while some get bored with it. It must have worked though, because the spirit at the game was unlike any I have seen before.”

Not only were new games and performances added into the pep assembly this year, but also some of the more popular events, in the students’ eyes, were removed this year, SA President Daniel Harris ’14 said.

“I actually did not mind the fact that there was no teacher dance this year,” said Harris. “I think after seeing it every year, it was nice for the assembly to be changed a bit. I really wasn’t disappointed at all.”

Some students may have been all for not having a teacher dance this year to switch things up, but some seniors were disappointed,” Khaled Elbadawi ’14 said. Elbadawi opposed the decision to remove the teacher dance from the pep assembly.

SA Senator Jack Warren ’15, who co-chaired the pep assembly, said that he helped fuel the idea of changing the pep assembly up, instead of having the same old events as previous years. Although it was a risky decision in the eyes of some students, Warren believes it paid off in the long run.

“Everything went pretty well,” said Warren. “We had a few minor problems but overall it was good, and I really think the students enjoyed it.”

One of the more surprising additions to this years’ pep assembly was the live performance from recording artist and South’s very own Paulina Jayne ’14, Fritz said. After an intense pie-eating contest between elected students from each class, Jayne’s name was announced and the attention was drawn to her as she performed an original song for the student body, faculty and staff.

“I really liked hearing Paulina Jayne perform,” said Fritz. “Its not often that someone from your own school has a big chance at becoming famous and she is also an amazing singer.”

Change is always something that tends to be a challenge for some to overcome, but for the students at South, most were pleased with this year’s altered pep assembly, Warren said.