By Olivia Lang ’15 | News Editor

Expanding to take on the All-In Movement’s (AIM) role in the school last year, Link Crew will focus on not only adapting the Freshmen to South, but also on uniting the whole school during this year’s second semester, Link Crew adviser Dennis Pascoe said.

“Link Crew is a national mentoring group whose purpose is to pair upperclassmen with incoming Freshmen in order to make the transition to high school as smooth as possible,” said Pascoe. “This year we will be having more large events with Freshmen, as well as trying to do school-wide events that will focus on breaking down social barriers and make South a more united school.”

Pascoe said he is disappointed in the upperclassmen hazing freshmen during this year’s Spirit Week, which resulted in the Senior’s disqualification from the Spirit Jug. In direct response to the hazing, Pascoe bought candy to distribute to as many freshmen as possible.

“I thought that our student population was better. Being a Blue Devil, we’re better than that. At some point, whether it’s a sports team or in choir or any of those things, the freshmen that we have now will help build the legacy that everybody has set, so we need to respect them, and we need to understand that they play a vital role,” said Pascoe. “I just tried to make sure my Link Crew guys were getting in touch with them (the Freshmen), making sure they were okay.”

The ultimate goal of Link Crew is to break down social barriers whether they are between classes or between cliques, and the group’s mentors will assist the Freshmen in transitioning to high school and hold events to unify the school in order to accomplish this task, Pascoe said. The club is working to make the Freshmen feel safer and more welcome through some upcoming events. There will be a class-wide game of zombie tag after school, and before the freshmen football team’s final game on Oct. 24, Link Crew is organizing a tailgate for every South freshman to attend.

“I communicated to the Link Crew just to be on the lookout for those things (hazing). I think the best thing we can do is lead by example in those situations,” said Pascoe. “I know students will say, ‘This stuff has been going on forever,’ but that’s a ridiculous statement. Things need to stop. We know what is right and wrong. Just because it might have happened to you doesn’t mean you can keep doing that.”

No Link Crew leaders took part in hazing freshmen, Pascoe said. For Link Crew to be successful in abolishing freshmen hazing, they will need cooperation from the whole student body.

“We need to take care of them and show them how to do things the right way and not the wrong way,” said Pascoe. “If you see something (bad) happening, do the right thing. Don’t participate in it. You know what is right and wrong. Follow the rules. Do your thing.”

Link Crew is in its second year at South, so it is still developing to become a much more active group in the day-to-day function at this school, Pascoe said. In the future, Pascoe said he hopes to see Link Crew have more events, more meetings with the Freshmen and do more to unify the school.

“What we are going to do this year is have the second semester focus on school wide initiatives that include all classes, not just the Freshmen,” said Pascoe. “While the mentors will still be keeping in touch with the Freshmen, we want the events to have a unifying message and include all social groups and classes at South.”

Freshmen are broken into groups of 10 each with two Link Crew mentors or leaders, second-year Link Crew leader Lydia Burton ’15 said. It is the job of the Link Crew leaders to help the freshmen in their group adjust to high school throughout the whole year.

“During the day that Link Crew meets all of the freshmen, I break into a small group with one other leader and 10 freshmen, and we play bonding games and the like. Then as the year continues, I keep in touch with the kids in my group and make sure everything is going smoothly,” said Burton. “We show them (the Freshmen) around the school and help them get out of their shell to meet new people.”

Being encouraged to meet new people, upperclassmen in particular, is one of the most beneficial things Link Crew provides to the Freshmen, Jackie DeLoof ’16 said.

“I got to know a lot of new people (through Link Crew), and it helped that I knew some older kids who helped me find my classes on the first day of school,” said DeLoof. “Being able to interact with upperclassmen was awesome because usually the Freshmen aren’t liked by them and being able to say ‘Hi’ to them in the hall and having them talk to me was great.”

Link Crew, while only in its second year, has its eyes set on becoming a pivotal group at South, said Pascoe. He said he believes Link Crew will grow and flourish in its years to come.

“As a graduate of South, I really want this group to be a transformative group that makes everyone feel included, breaks down cliques and helps make South an even better school than it  already is,” said Pascoe. “This group will be able to have people understand their differences and be comfortable with people who might not be like them.”