This year’s pep rally had mixed reviews from the student body here at North Hollywood High. Taking place on the last day of Spirit Week and attempting to stir up excitement for the upcoming homecoming events, opinions on the rally varied. 

Regardless of the numerous activities and entertainment included in it, students struggled to look past some of the flaws in the planning. 

An eleventh grader, who prefers to remain anonymous, feels that, “[ASB] never listen[s] when we want things changed for events. They just do the same things over and over again even though it doesn’t work. Or when people don’t like it. Like, people did not like Homecoming last year, but they’re doing the same thing for Homecoming for this year.”

Senior Julian Ortiz said, “I thought it was fun but there wasn’t much going on, to be honest. It wasn’t as good as the Matrix one [from last year].” 

Fellow twelfth graders Tina Frangulyan and Angelina Heredia also preferred last year’s pep rally. 

“Nothing beats the Matrix,” Heredia agreed.

Adding on to that, Frangulyan explained, “To me personally, I think last year’s pep rally was much better. This one was really rushed–like last year there were a lot more clubs who ran. This year there wasn’t and all the students were spread out so you couldn’t make them out by grade level. It was still enjoyable, but it felt really short to me.”

There were some elements, however, that were received well.

“I thought it was hilarious and I kept laughing the whole time,” Heredia said, mentioning that her favorite moments were, “Mr. Rosales’ voice crack, the musical chairs game, and the Husky Elite routine.”

Frangulyan also liked the Husky Elite performance. “They probably had the most energy out of everyone,” she commented. 

Ortiz, on the other hand, shared that he found “when Ms. Deutsch fell” during a game of musical chairs to be particularly amusing. 

Despite being able to enjoy certain parts, Ortiz and Heredia still felt that there was room for improvement. 

“[We] ran for drama club but it was an interesting experience because it was boiling hot and the presidents of the club weren’t even there,” Heredia informed. 

The disorganization as well as the high temperatures outside, where all the students participating in the rally were asked to wait, were major issues for most. 

However, others, including senior Mia Estrada and junior Ava Bishop, were able to find the bright side. 

“It was hot and sweaty but for every round our club, Noho Poets, got more and more creative with our runs! It was one of the best pep rallies I’ve ever done because with our time between runs we even got to practice dancing for hoco, or have extra time to study for a test!” Estrada recounted positively.

Bishop added, “I did really enjoy it. From the parts that I saw, it looked really fun! I’ve only been to two pep rallies but from what I could tell, it was on the same level as those last two with the same sort of things done in all three now that I’ve seen…overall I had a great time.”

Estrada found this year’s rally to be especially meaningful, as well. “Since this is my senior year, it made everything feel more special because I grew more appreciative of our school,” she said.

Another member of the class of 2024, Ashlyn Castro, stated during the rally, “[It’s] very hot but it’s fun cause it’s the last one, finally!”

Though the pep rally left some things to be desired for students, it certainly brought homecoming week to an entertaining close.