Froshfest
A thundering crowd, screaming students, and colorful costumes from every stretch of imagination; all these things describe Froshfest. All Benet students know what this event is, having been a part of it, from the incoming freshmen who recently experienced it to the upperclassmen who carry on this great tradition. Every freshman can take part in Froshfest, and this year it was a smashing success.
‘Take Your Frosh to Work Day’, a corny idea upon first thought, but when brought to life by the Benet students and staff, it was the backbone of a great introduction to the school. The volunteers put their own spin on the event, with group names ranging from “professional athletes”,
to “construction workers”, to “celebrities”. The leaders embodied their group’s theme, dressing up in jerseys, sport coats, black robes, fire helmets, and police uniforms. They made a visible effort to make the day the best it could be for the incoming freshmen, and it appears they had fun with it.
There was no fooling around during set-up for this event, as one hundred and fifty students worked together over a period
of five days, with each volunteer having a one-hour training session. Three hours before the event, the committee of students and faculty were setting up for the day. Everyone gave a large amount of their own time to make sure the event would succeed, and all their hard work was certainly obvious.
The day started with our newest Redwings entering the building through the St. Joseph circle drive door. With characters cheering for them, they made their way to the small gym, where students screamed their hearts out and waved enormous banners and signs. They found their group and cheered on any straggling freshmen, feeling as if they were part of something bigger. According to freshman Seven Acosta, “There are no words to describe the atmosphere in here.” He seems right. As it is a unique freshman experience to have a few hundred people cheering just for you.
After the hysteria subsided, the freshmen left the bleachers to break up into their groups, each following a schedule for the day that varied according to the group. Icebreakers were used to introduce the members of the groups to each other to be more familiar with each other during the day and the school year to come. Freshmen played games such as human knot, musical chairs, water balloon toss, hula hoop twist, tug-o-war and captain’s coming, each at different intervals of the day, being either indoors or outdoors. The day was sweltering so everyone was sweating but having a great time. They were happy when it was their turn to go into the school and take their tour after completing the inflatable obstacle course.
On the tour, group leaders showed freshmen most of Benet, leading them to some of their possible classrooms and study halls.
Every floor of the school was covered and important places
like the principal’s office and the chapel were pointed out to the new students. The tour was very thorough and quite helpful to those not familiar with the school.
To cap off the day, every group reassembled in the small gym for a final pep rally where freshmen were taught all the spirit songs that are used at Redwing sporting events. The Benet Avions performed, and everyone was excited and cheering, like they had been at the start of the day. After the pep rally, the freshmen celebrated Mass together for the first time as the Class of 2019.
All in all, Froshfest was a rousing success this year, with leaders and freshmen enjoying themselves and having a grand time. Senior Brendan Blaney, leader of the celebrities group, summed up Froshfest in this way, “It’s a great experience for the leaders and freshmen.” This is a fitting description of this event, as it is not just the freshmen that benefit from this but also all
other students at Benet. Father Ed Kucera describes Froshfest as “Energizing; it warms you up for the year and breaks down barriers. It gives the upperclassmen the satisfaction of transitioning the incoming freshmen.” This is the perfect way to describe Froshfest, a tradition of fun and games that breaks the ice and starts the new year at Benet for all students.
