The role of StuCo is to introduce new ideas and programs into the building, according to their sponsor Jason Springer. However, StuCo is giving up responsibility for many of the activities they planned in the past and putting them in the hands of other clubs.
As a result Raise the Roof will no longer exist
Student Council passed the responsibility for Raise the Roof to Booster Club, but they were not interested.
“Student Council passed [Raise the Roof] to the Booster Club and the basketball teams didn’t want to do it anymore,” Libby Wiebe, senior StuCo representative said.
However Chuck Law, the basketball coach says otherwise.
“I don’t think it was really [the basketball team’s] decision to not to do Raise the Roof,” Law said. “I think it was kind of a school decision. I don’t know if anybody really wanted to take the leadership and put Raise the Roof on.”
To make up for the loss of this tradition the basketball team hosted its own scrimmage a couple of weeks ago in an effort to get canned goods for needy families in town.
One more tradition lost was Jamboree, which was not put on this year supposedly because of the new football field, which remained unfinished at the time of the assembly. Next year is looking brighter. Another tradition moving into other hands is Great Green Help. The Service Learning Class is sponsoring that now.
Some other traditions still around have been moved to different times in the school year. Decorate a Staircase, a class competition, has been moved to the springtime.
There are some new traditions joining Free State to fill in the gaps those cancelled activities have left. The Earth, Wind and Firebird class competitions are an example. Classes have competed over Homecoming floats and Pippin attendance as part of this new activity.
“There are some different activities like maybe a carnival, a casino night or a [beauty] pagent,” senior Drue Davis said. “We’ve got some ideas and one of those will definitely happen.”
Springer said the new activities will “culturize“ the student body.
“An event has to have something to do with a more unified culture, something that will kind of bring the student body together,” he said.
Getting rid of some of the past traditions is causing mixed emotions.
“I was kinda bummed out, but I understand that it wasn’t Student Council’s issue anymore,” Wiebe said.
Even the sophomores, who haven’t experienced the now lost traditions, are a little upset.
“If it’s a tradition then I don’t think it should be changed,” sophomore Lauren Wethington said.
Springer has a few words for those students who are upset about the demise of Raise the Roof and other accustomed activities.
“This is their opportunity to maybe create some change,” he said. “Find another club or another organization or start a new one themselves and keep the tradition alive if it’s something you really want.”
![After receiving advice from her students, orchestra director Judy Erpelding marks her music. Although the director normally makes the artistic decisions, Erpelding will often consult her students and hear their opinions on what sounds good and what they should try out. “[The students] are the heart of the program, not me,” Erpelding said. “I know they will carry that on and I will miss them. Making great music with them, being able to challenge them, taking their inspiration.”](https://www.fsfreepressonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Roust_Erpelding_5_11_23-600x900.jpg)
