Students Protest Canceling Of Powderpuff
By Jack Hooker and Abby Patkin
Powderpuff, a tradition that South students look forward to throughout high school, has been cancelled, Principal Joel Stembridge announced today, and students called the decision unjust and sexist.
Stembridge said Wednesday that the junior girls vs. senior girls annual Powderpuff football game, which takes place after the pep rally the day before Thanksgiving, has been canceled for several reasons. He cited injuries during the game and the possible sexism of the game, including using the name “Powderpuff” to describe a girls-only football game.
Stembridge sent out an email this afternoon explaining his decision.
“I make this decision primarily to safeguard our students and out of concern for our school climate,” Stembridge said in his email. “I want to be clear that, in general, the student behavior during the past two years has been acceptable. However, there are aspects of the negative impact of this tradition on our school culture that cannot be mitigated by better behaved students.”
Senior class president Tom Howe said he respects Stembridge’s decision, although he doesn’t agree with it.
“I understand that cutting out Powderpuff may make Mr. Stembridge’s life easier,” Howe said. “However, I value school spirit and significance of Powderpuff to each student’s life enough to sacrifice some comfort for the student’s sake.”
Stembridge informed the class officers about this change during the weekly class officers’ meeting earlier Wednesday.
“Principal Stembridge ran the information by me, and showed me the email he was sending to parents and told me his decision was pretty final,” Howe said.
Howe said he believes that the real reason for the cancellation is that the administration has one less thing to worry about.
Junior class officer Haley Eagle said that Stembridge let class officers know today before he sent out his email, but prior to today they had no idea.
“We even had a lot of plans for the Powderpuff team, coaches, and cheerleaders,” Eagle said.
“Kids in the grade are coming to us with questions and requests but because we had no part in this, there’s nothing we can do. We are just as angry as everyone else.”
Many junior and senior girls took to Facebook today to keep the tradition alive, planning to wear jerseys to school as form or protest and launching petitions to reverse the decision.
“South has very little school spirit left, and Powderpuff has been a tradition for forever that I have been looking forward to since I was a freshman,” senior Monique Gould said.
Senior class officer Mel Gundersheim agreed.
“Powderpuff is the one point in the year that our school actually comes together to have some spirit,” she said. “Unfortunately, our school doesn’t have much spirit or enthusiasm for any other sports or events that take place, and powderpuff is the one time that people can reflect on their high school experience and see our blue and orange come together.
“I’m truthfully shocked and really upset.”
More importantly, some say, the event established a connection amongst classmates that would otherwise never have been formed.
“All of us are really upset because this is something we’ve looked forward to for two years at least and [it’s] really our first experience of being upperclassmen,” Eagle said. “We’re just really upset that this had to happen this year and we never got a chance to participate.”
Many girls said that the decision, made in part to avoid sexism, is sexist itself.
“I think it’s a little sexist,” senior Sky Striar, who said she was looking forward to the game, said. “Players for the boys football team are frequently injured but no one talks about stopping that. Injury is something you accept when you are involved in sports no one is forced to play and anyone is welcome to take any safety precautions they want.”
Junior Alexandra Robertson heard the news from a friend and thought she was joking.
“Girls might get injured during the game, yet boys play football during the school year and they have the same risk?” Robertson said. “Why ban it for girls? If you want to ban this dangerous game, ban it for both genders.”
Despite the generally positive feedback towards the game from those who have participated, Stembridge said, a quieter minority has felt pressured by teammates to participate in the event, caught between “disappointing classmates and engaging in inauthentic and dangerous behavior” when those around them began acting in ways that could otherwise be perceived as bullying or hazing.
Others, however, such as one female senior who participated last year, said that it wasn’t so much the peer pressure as it was the exclusiveness and favoritism that soured the normally joyous tradition.
“I feel like it was unfair as far as selecting which players to play,” the senior said, asking that her name not be used. “When I tried to be put in [to play]…only [two people] supported me. So I was truly upset that I wasn’t able to participate. It should be fair and everyone should feel welcomed.”
Still, Howe says that the class officers are brainstorming ideas to protest because he feels as though it is their duty to do so.
“We are trying to brainstorm other alternatives to Powderpuff to host instead on that day to still have some sort of school spirit-like event,” Howe said. “Other options are to have Powderpuff unaffiliated with the school faculty.”
Junior Meaghan McDonald said she believes that if the game does not get sponsored by the school then the students will have their own game. She plans on being one of the protesters, though she says she respects the people involved with making the decision.
“I plan on wearing school colors for the next few days as should anyone else who really cares,” said McDonald. “One day of protest won’t change anything we need to be persistent and if we give up after one day the administration won’t take us seriously.”
Howe vowed to help with the protests.
“Really, Powderpuff is the only day or event that really rallies up the entire student body at South,” Howe said. “Whether you’re cheering for the juniors or seniors, everyone’s just got passion for their team, and it’s really the only shred of class spirit that South has to offer.”
