By Chloe ’12
During Mascot, the lovely Class of 2013 attempted to revive one of Marlborough’s longest-running and seldom-discussed traditions: the recently deceased junior-senior rivalry. To the tune of Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci,” the juniors sang about our chances at the Ivy League (according to the song, very low) and our social aspirations (no friends in college, desperation to project the “hipster” image). In addition to being inaccurate, the song definitely hit below the belt and was poorly received.
In the past, the rivalry made an appearance at Mascot in the form of the juniors’ song to the seniors as well as at Pumpkin Day festivities. However, the rivalry was abolished a couple of years ago after a series of unfortunate incidents involving cat food, saran wrap, and cars in the Ebell parking lot. The competition had escalated to the point where it had simply gone too far. While I must admit that the past few Mascot songs and Pumpkin Days have had a little less zest to them without the anticipation of what the year’s face-off would entail, I ultimately don’t think that we are missing out on much if we discourage a rivalry between the two classes.
Following Mascot, many seniors were taken aback and upset by the juniors’ song; some even composed a “retaliation” song of sorts, which was kept under the radar. While I think that the aggravation and anger was certainly valid, and I was personally annoyed at the fact that the juniors got approval for the song’s content from the powers-that-be while we were told by the same group not to cheer or chant back, I don’t think that the rivalry necessarily needs to be revived. The juniors apologized, first of all, in front of the entire Class of 2012 and bearing cookies. Some of them even told some of us in advance that they didn’t intend for the song to be offensive. If our grades have that level of camaraderie, then the rivalry must not be that big of a deal. The teasing is really not that personal, and for the most part there haven’t been any major kerfuffles between our grade and theirs. Retaliation, in this case, isn’t necessary.
While the rivalries in the past were fun for some, I’m sure, I just don’t think that they serve any purpose. No matter how many times the juniors think of clever costumes and songs, I can’t recall a time when they managed to out-do the seniors in the time I’ve been at Marlborough. The seniors are always going to be a year older and have a year more of experience under their belts. No wonder they always come out on top!
