There is something about the first week of November that seems to set it apart from any other week in school. On Monday, when we get to school we expect to walk through the same old drab halls we see everyday. But on this particular first Monday of the month, there seems to be a little more black and gold color on the walls and ceilings than usual.  We see posters, balloons, and streamers that student council and other spirited students help decorate throughout the whole school. All of this hard work is done to get all rider students excited for the big Friday night football game. You know already know which one I’m talking about. It’s Rider/Old High week, Raiders.

            This week is practically dedicated to getting all students and faculty in the Raider spirit to cheer on all the Football players as they take on the Old High Coyotes in the hopes of defeating them once again. And yes, this week is also known as “Rivalry Week” which can be taken a little too far for us competitive Raiders out there. As much as we want to pull the typical Rider/Old High pranks, it is up to us to be the bigger person. I like pranks as much as the next guy but vandalizing the opponent’s property is not part of our preparation. It does not make our school look good as a whole and one little prank could possibly lead to one big consequence.

             Let’s face it. What good has it ever done to go all the way out to Old High and (for example) dump a dead Coyote on their doorstep? Maybe it has gotten some laughs out of the situation but now a days it’s all about who has “class” and if we really have the class that we say we do, then all we need to do is support our school as much and possible and let the final score do the talking.