The Pink-Out Pep rally is an opportunity to honor the victims and bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer. This year, however, the stormy Texas weather meant that it nearly resulted in a Black-Out Pep Rally. The school day started without electricity, which came back on shortly before the pep rally was scheduled to start, so teachers and students headed to the gym only slightly delayed for the event. Moments before everything got started, though, the lights went off again, leaving everyone in the dark.
“It was raining super hard the night before, so I wasn’t really surprised,” sophomore Saloni Jariwala said. “I was secretly hoping the lights wouldn’t come back on so we wouldn’t have to go back to school afterward.”
As the lights remained off, the cheerleaders and the Bison Belles pulled out glow sticks and positive attitudes in an attempt to keep everything rolling. Just as the pep rally was about to start, the light changed again – this time coming on. The varsity football team was introduced, along with breast cancer survivors Kelly Bing and Leslie Morman, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer again earlier this year.
“It was really special that we were able to honor these women; they’ve gone through a lot,” junior Kayla Saenz said. “Although it was almost a last-minute Black-Out Pep rally, we didn’t give up or forget the true meaning of the event.”
Senior Andrea Daniel gave a short speech about how breast cancer has affected many women in the world.
“A lot of people don’t realize how important it is to go get checked for breast cancer; I would be a lot better to find out sooner than later,” Daniel said. “The speech at the pep rally was to inform everyone of how high the chances are and how it can affect your life tremendously.”
In order to help raise money for Morman’s radiation and chemo treatments, the cheerleaders sold tickets to be drawn at the pep rally as a fundraiser. Junior Kaline Martinez, senior Mathew Jonas, freshman Gael Ortiz and senior Samantha Pate had their names drawn, and they were able to pie a faculty member in the face. Principal Corey Hickerson and teachers Daryl Skelton and Evan Stone were all covered with whipped cream by the end of the pep rally.
“I didn’t think I was going to be picked, but I’m really glad I was because it was so fun,” Ortiz said. “It was a great way to end the pep rally.”
