Seniors Win the 2023 Battle of the Classes…Again!
Ed. Note: Much of what you’ll read below is satirical, but some is not. You decide.
Why do you go to Battle of the Classes? To participate in the activities? To support peers and cheer them on from the stands? Perhaps you attend to poke fun or just laugh? Or maybe…you’ve never even gone.
On March 3rd, 2023, Bethpage High School held its annual “Battle of the Classes” after school at approximately 3:30 p.m. Every year, the same cycle repeats: spirit week, penny wars, t-shirt making, hallway decorating, and a friendly competition between each grade. So why is The Eagle’s Cry writing an article critiquing an event everyone seems to love? Well, there wouldn’t be a need to critique if there weren’t such blaring issues.
Where to start? From repetitive themes to unorganized dances, little-to-no preparation goes into this supposedly well thought out event.
In our opinion, the event was a mess. Nobody was even aware of what time it actually started until the day of. Also, the seniors were the only group to decorate their spot in the stands, and the classic theory goes that the “whole thing is rigged for the seniors to win anyway.”
The manner that points were awarded after each event made it impossible to keep track if they were actually earned. Scores remained tightly knit with the seniors somehow always coming out on top… even when they lost numerous events.
And what was up with the inappropriate dance the seniors prepared for their “six-man number?” You couldn’t help but stare in awe that a group of students could actually be so bold as to dance like that.
And why does the faculty even participate? They didn’t choreograph a proper dance, and they kept winning every event but still lost in the end. Obviously the faculty can’t win, so why have five or six teachers involved at all?
“My second year teaching, the teachers won every event except one,” said Mr. Malossi. “We even beat some giant seniors in the tug-of-war. I was obviously a key player. The faculty still came in second. However, I have seen the juniors and even the sophomores win the battle!”
Musical Chairs sure is a violent game. At Battle, it was enabled to go beyond school bounds, permitting teachers and students alike to quite literally shove each other off of chairs. There was teacher-on-student violence, student-on-student fighting, and even sibling-to-sibling aggression. There was even cheating, and nobody seemed to mind. Our watchful The Eagle’s Cry editor eyes, however, took deep notice.
And sure, some students enjoy it, but it’s typically the underclassmen who are relatively new to the whole event. The only thing the upperclassmen care about is winning (which will happen for the seniors anyway).
Of course The Eagle’s Cry isn’t suggesting we stop the entire thing, but BHS should think about revising it.
First, the faculty shouldn’t even bother participating, because let’s be honest… what’s the point? It’s usually the same few teachers every year, and from our perspective, they don’t even care that much about it.
Next, we need to stop rigging the games so the seniors always end up winning. Who cares that it’s our last year? Imagine how hilarious it would be if a bunch of seniors lost to the underclassmen!
But, at the end of the day, we truly appreciate our teachers and administration for putting in the effort to create this event every year for students to enjoy. Even though it doesn’t live up to the extremely high standards of our head editors, we still want to thank our faculty for dedicating their time into making Battle of the Classes.
Evi Tzortzatos is a senior at BHS and one of the two head editors of The Eagle’s Cry. In her free time, she listens to vinyl, plays bass for the hit...
Emily Betwinek is currently a senior at Bethpage High School. She is one of the two head editors of The Eagle’s Cry. She is also a member and Drum Major...
Mohammed McLovin • Mar 12, 2023 at 8:09 pm
I did not read this article. It is too long. But, I love America.
Cato • Mar 8, 2023 at 6:11 pm
I am saddened that rather than allowing us and yourselves to enjoy our last few months of senior year you instead choose to pick a battle with an event beloved by the BHS community. No one is asking for a professional production when it comes to battle. We are not professional dancers and it is not like there are endless themes to choose from that can easily fit all the requirements a theme needs to. At the end of the day we are all busy students taking the time out of our lives to mix music, choreograph, and practice dances. There is simply no time for us to plan or practice perfect dances for 40+ kids.
This was also the first normal battle since Covid, so it is unfair to charge the 3 grades who had never seen a real battle before with not having decorated their sections of the bleaches. There was no issue regarding points for anyone truly paying attention. Yes, the seniors lost some events, but we also finished first in even more.
Also, calling the senior six man “inappropriate” seems like a little bit of an overreaction. It is not 1903 and we aren’t 10 years old, so our dances don’t have to be “rated G”. And even then it isn’t like the dance was some horror show full of risque moments. It was just a dance, yes a bold one, but it won. This tells us that the dance was not too inappropriate, considering that the AP of the schools was literally one of the people judging it.
As for the faculty, the faculty provide entertainment beyond serious competition. It is fun to see your favorite teachers out there doing their best in whatever events or dances are being planned.
As for musical chairs, yes it is going to cause pushing and shoving, but it’s all fun. No one is actually trying to hurt anyone. And as far as the “cheating”, the judges made it clear all rulings are final.
As for the satire claims, it’s kind of a bad excuse to write a whole essay tearing into battle of the classes and then saying “haha it was just a joke” at the end. The truth is that I understand this article was probably written just to cause outrage and get eyes on this newspaper. But to use those of us who put in an effort to make battle successful as a way to get eyes on your writing is unethical. I think this article fails to appreciate that organizing battle both on the sides of the judges and the classes takes a herculean effort from people with already very busy lives. What you don’t see at the events is the hours spent organizing dances, themes, hall decorating, and more. Hours upon hours are spent to make this event what it is, so to stand on the outside looking in and calling the event disappointing is an unfair charge.
Socrates • Mar 8, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Not only do I disagree with your take, what was the purpose of leaving such a negative point of view on something students and faculty all seem to enjoy. Especially throughout Covid, there hasn’t been many opportunities for this years seniors to participate, and every senior who went seemed to really enjoy themselves. The preparation was there on our part due to us knowing what to do. The dances were creative with great choreography and lovely costumes. We all worked hard. The other grades including the freshmen were more prepared than usual. What do you expect from a school event regardless? Suggesting improvements for the future is one thing, but don’t look down on the whole event. This article did not seem satirical and just seemed to want controversy taking away a great day for everyone who was there.
David Croxley • Mar 8, 2023 at 4:01 pm
I disagree. It’s fun. Have fun.
Euripides • Mar 8, 2023 at 12:37 pm
i’m so sorry that you think teachers and faculty having a little fun is BOLD, inappropriate, and embarassing…maybe you should’ve participated?
Please dont ruin a fun school event for the future students just because of silly comments and opinions. The seniors fought for the win, it wasn’t rigged. The seniors were the last people to have a normal battle. So maybe instead of the harsh comments, we make a bigger deal of it so the future bhs students can care more and try harder to win. Battle of the classes has been a tradition for many years and in many other school districts, if anything BHS doesn’t go the full step..If you see wantagh and south side they go crazy. I say bhs has gone soft.
PS if u didnt participate any of the 4 years, you dont have the right to say anything
Student who look down upon the event and their acquaintances are the problem.
Brutus • Mar 8, 2023 at 9:06 am
I disagree with just about every point made. Little thought was put into the motives and purpose of the faculty team. Some things were made up, such as the ignorance to any cheating, which was only ignored by teachers. Any suspicious act was screamed and argued about by every other class, and musical chairs was made fair by the abundance of cheating, at least for the final rounds. On top of this, the violence of musical chairs was blown far out of proportion for a silly narrative. There was competitive spirit, so naturally there was some level of aggression, but no students or faculty were hurt, or had the intention of hurting anyone. Also, to say that battle was rigged for the seniors is just foolish. In a rigged match, the administrators would have acknowledged that the seniors had already beat the juniors in tug of war, prior to the finals, and granted the seniors the win accordingly. Instead, they put it up to chance, giving juniors the opportunity to tie up the whole event. Please put in some more thought next time. 🙂
-Brutus (Not the one that wrote those old papers, he’s dead I think)
Evi Tzortzatos • Mar 8, 2023 at 10:53 am
Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Publius • Mar 8, 2023 at 1:50 pm
This is very serious. Do not joke about a topic such as Battle of the Classes.
Publius • Mar 7, 2023 at 8:08 pm
Wonderful article, but i should point out some discrepancies I believe this article failed to acknowledge. Teachers are great to have trying or not. Now, if they were to sweep the floors and win all the events, than imagine being the teacher having to teach a student who was passionate in winning the battle after you stole a trophy from them. Faculty members are adults and could probably handle losing a trophy, but to students on the other hand, you might as well have spat in their face and laughed at them. I also do not believe the battle is rigged for seniors. This is because this year, they lost plenty of events, and almost lost the battle all in all against the juniors in a teeth-grinding tie-breaking tug of war match. A reason why the seniors happen to win more events than other grades (which wasn’t the case this year since seniors in fact underperformed in low earning events) could be because they are the most experienced people on the court, even more experienced than the faculty on the court since those teachers are never the same over the years and usually consist of newer members to the district. Hence why the seniors this year were the only ones to decorate their section as they were the last to experience a normal battle, which happened back in 2020. It was a great piece overall but I believe certain points made were weak. I’d love to hear your opinions to the point made. – Publius (yes the ones from The Federalist Papers)
The Dean • Mar 7, 2023 at 7:49 pm
nah i like dit