After 20 years, the New Trier pep rally was triumphantly revived last Monday, Oct. 2, for Spirit Week.

In addition to shorter regular periods, the day brought two 50-minute periods where adviseries in either group A or B trickled into the buzzing chaos of the Gates Gym, where they participated in various activities including ‘Under the Sea’ themed games that pitted students and staff against each other, and singing the fight song.

Student Activities Coordinator Stacy Kolack, who spearheaded the organization of the event, said “momentum has been building over the last few years for a bigger event—something bigger than the smaller pep assemblies we’ve been doing these past years—that brings together the whole school.”

Even with the division of groups A and B, the rally achieved a scale that has not been seen at New Trier in a while.

Not only was there a DJ, and shirts launched into the stands, the rally also included performances from the Pep Band, Cheer and Dance teams, and fundraising for hurricane relief.

“We’re always looking for more ways to get the student body involved in events at New Trier,” said Student Alliance President senior Jacob Imber, “we figured that now was as good a time as any to make this happen. This seemed like the best way to get everyone excited about homecoming.”

Though many, like Imber, considered the pep rally a spirited and worthy event, others questioned its purpose or saw it as a nuisance.

Junior Eileen Wolff noted that it was quite overwhelming and overcrowded, though she stated that she was indifferent to having another next year.

Junior Ridah Chhotoo agreed. Having transferred to New Trier this year from Niles North, Chhotoo observed that in comparison to the pep rallies there, the crowd was much less engaged. “It felt like we were just watching people do things. It didn’t feel as spirited.” She also liked that Niles North’s homecoming pep rally was always at the very end of the day the Friday before the dance.

Imber agrees on one hand that there are aspects to improve upon for coming years, such as smoother transitions and more crowd participation. But as this was their first time organizing something like this, it was ultimately a way to bring the school together. In this sense, to Imber, “it was absolutely a success.”

In fact, planning a school-wide event that attempted to unite the entire school required the unification and combined efforts of numerous clubs and organizations at New Trier including Pep Club, Tri-Ship, Green Team, Girls Club, Student Alliance, Pep Band, Dance Team, Cheer Team, High 5 Choir ALPS Leadership students, and four student mascots.

“Girls Club members were split into three groups,” said Mia Sampson, a Girls Club Officer who also participated in the event. “Officers were told to hold up signs, other members fundraised money throughout the crowd for the hurricane, and others participated in the games.”

“It took a lot of people to make it happen,” said Kolack. “Not only did they have a massive load to organize and prepare, but since there were only three weeks from the first day to Spirit Week, many groups began planning as far back as last spring, and some even worked over the summer.”

Just moments before the start of Group A’s period, there was a power outage. “It was definitely a challenge,” said Kolack, “but eventually it came back on and everything was fine.”

A feedback survey was sent out to advisers earlier this week to get a sense of how the pep rally was received and what could have been improved. Nothing has officially been announced as to whether this will happen again next year.

“It really feels almost like a milestone for New Trier,” said Kolack.

“I feel like there’s so much school spirit, but it’s all so separated to a specific department, team, or club. It was nice to bring that together.”