My Turn : Harsh Rally Rules Would Allow Moshers to Ruin Fun for Everyone

Five years ago, rallies at Brea Olinda High School were plagued by egg-throwing and firecrackers. Now the problem is moshing--students slamming, pushing and throwing each other around.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed. People can be seriously injured from being jumped on or thrown. It is not a laughing matter when students endanger the safety of others by jumping around and pushing onto one another.

The behavior of these students has caused the administration to reconsider the rules for rallies. Another rally, which will be a test of student behavior, is scheduled for Friday.

One rule that has been suggested for future rallies is that all students stay seated during the entire event. That this is even being considering is an insult. By keeping us seated, the administration is detracting from the excitement of the rally. They are punishing the whole student body because a minority of the students want to ruin it.

However, that would not be a change for some juniors. At the homecoming rally, while everyone else was getting caught up in the excitement of the rally, the juniors in the top and middle sections of the bleachers were not allowed to express their spirit by standing and cheering. Students in the senior section were swaying from side to side and dancing, but when a few of the juniors started dancing they were told to sit down.

Admittedly there was slamming and moshing going on in the junior section, and there would be some apprehension on the part of the administration that more dangerous behavior would follow. However, better judgment would show that these students did not intend to cause a ruckus and hurt people. They were just trying to have some fun. To tell students to sit down when they had no intention of causing any safety problems or harm toward others is unfair.

A more reasonable solution to the problem that has been suggested is to have teachers in pairs seated with students throughout the bleachers.

At the homecoming rally, administrators were situated in large groups at the top of class sections where they thought trouble might occur. This was a mistake, because problems would break out in areas they could not get to. By placing teachers throughout the bleachers, they could get to all of the problems.

The trouble starts with a few kids intent on ruining the rally, and these students pull in the borderline students who would normally not act in such a fashion.

Troublemakers should be thrown out immediately. There should be no exceptions to those who ruin the rally for others.

These students should also be banned from all school activities for the rest of the year, because these people are the ones who ruin the rally for the whole group.