Plastic Chairs and Carpet Stains

..... Last Friday was a day of concerts. There was an Alesana concert (Or as Carina pronounces it A-Lasagna) playing in Stockton that my friend Michelle was dying to go to and there was also a little known musical event involving two schools and their choir programs opening at McNair High, which I was not all that excited to attend. 

..... For a price of a whopping $3.00, my friends and I attended the choir concert at McNair. Apparently Chavez and McNair agreed to share the stage together because they wanted to foster good relations, being new schools and all. They pointed at us old schools (Stagg, Franklin, and Edison) for developing age-old grudges and rivalries. So basically, Chavez and McNair wanted allies when World War III starts in S.U.S.D. Regardless of their combined efforts, in reality, there was some animosity backstage between the Titans and Eagles. Apparently, the McNair people were making fun of the Chavez people, insulting their song choices and such stuff that would make a choir-member just sing with rage. Of course, this information is off-the-record, but it just goes to show you that no matter what, school rivalries will occur from time to time. In fact, I believe they're quite healthy (As long as they don't end in physical violence) because a wave of school spirit energizes the students to promote their schools, which isn't a bad thing at all.

..... Before I get going, I've got to say that the event wasn't terrible at all. In fact, the performances were amazing. Why can't Stagg do anything great with our performing arts programs? That's why I wasn't surprised when the McNair choir director, Karen Rogers, said they would sing with other schools as well, but failed to name Stagg at all! What an insult! As a school, we need to work harder to soften our seemingly dark image in the district. But let's not go overboard and be all uptight about our theatre like McNair...

..... During the performance, my girlfriend, Sanae, kept nagging me about the rules and regulations at McNair. In my opinion, they are obsessed with their theatre. I understand not bringing food and drinks, but the rest of their customs were strange. For one thing, the audience couldn't leave for the bathroom during the performance. That means they would rather have you pee your pants than disrupt their singing? Wouldn't that stain the carpet? Sanae even told me that Mrs. Rogers didn't like having flash photography or video cameras because of some identity issues. During the car ride to McNair, she kept bragging about how awesome their theatre was. Well turns out it wasn't that great. The cushioned seats (Yes, Stagg people I said cushioned seats in their theatre!) were a tad bit uncomfortable, nothing like the sturdy support of our Stagg plastic theatre chairs! Plus, the McNair theatre was dark as if I was inside the dungeon of a Twilight vampire! The school that should brag about their theatre is Stagg. At least we have good lights. At least we have plastic, a resource that's dependable and builds a tough backbone, literally. And at least we have the decency to eliminate our orchestra pit because a student fell through it!

..... In all seriousness, we, Delta Kings should step it up and start making decent performances. We need to build a creative reputation to replace our violent one. It's like Stagg is the black sheep of the S.U.S.D. family and schools like Chavez are the golden children. Of course, we're not blessed with a lot of money and a fairly new campus so I understand that we have to make do with what we have. We may not have the high-tech theatre of our dreams, but we do have school spirit. At least a little. Right? So let's start treating every activity we engage in as the royalty we are. After all, we are Delta Kings! [Fireworks and confetti] At least we have an original mascot than schools with generic ones like Titans, Eagles, Yellow Jackets, Rams, and Vikings. Psshh... Vi-kings! Copy cats!

- Jeremy Dela Cruz, proud of Stagg for what it is and what it can be