Senior Skit Causes Controversy

By Adam Feldman

It was a weekend of passion, excitement, anticipation, and most of all, competition as dedicated members of Hills West strived to gain the ultimate satisfaction of winning "Homecoming ‘08". Between creating floats and skits to designing shirts, banners, and bleachers, each student craved the satisfaction of hearing his class become declared the winner. In the end, it was the senior class that pulled through.

Although it was a joyous time for the soon-to-be graduates, speculation immediately arose throughout the minds of many.

Unsurprisingly, many of the seniors supported the judges’ decision. Mary Ciufo, a senior at West, helped build the float and set up the gym for pep rally. She also dressed up for Spirit Week and attended both pep rally and homecoming. "We put a lot of effort into the whole thing and really took pride in our work," Ciufo said. "It's our last year at West and we really put together something great. We deserve to get rewarded for that, especially since we've never done this well in past years."

“I had discussed the points with Mrs. Alexander, and the seniors earned most of them from the float, pep rally decorations, and the skit,” said Taryn Rosenberg, writer of the skit.

Still, many students felt that this decision was biased in some way. Even senior Majid Hamidi disagreed with the seniors’ win. “The junior skit was much better!” Though a few students thought the junior skit was too offensive, Majid didn’t care. “No matter the content, you have to please the crowd. The juniors did just that.”
Bessie Weisman, a junior at Hills West, added her thoughts on the outcome. "I don’t think the seniors deserved to win this year. They weren't as innovative with their country as the juniors,” she said. "Then again, they are graduating, so they should win since this is their last year here.” Weisman was not the only student who speculated that this was a “pity” win.

Though this conflict has not come to a definitive resolution and students continue to debate the true results of homecoming, it is undeniable that the day was filled with fun and excitement, and that this controversy perhaps only added to that.