By Kazi Nassif

Because of a larger student body and a lack of space in the large gym, freshmen will not be allowed to attend indoor pep rallies. Freshmen will be allowed to attend the outdoor Homecoming pep rally.

Principal Charles Bruner cited excessive heat and noise complaints from the surrounding area as reasons to move the pep rallies back inside.

“The weather and heat were not very cooperative, nor can we wait until the last minute if we want to continue the caliber of rallies RHS is known for,” Bruner said. “We were also hit by some community noise complaints.”

Because pep rallies are indoors, it would be a safety hazard if the entire student body piled into the large gym.

“Having the freshmen not a part of the pep rally has nothing to do with the improvement of the rally,” Bruner said. “It has to do with the safety of our students in the stands and in participation on the floor. We could never get to an emergency exit and one push would leave students tipping like dominoes. That causes too huge a liability to students’ safety.”

Freshman Michael Rodriguez said that while he enjoyed the pep rallies back at Richardson West Junior High, he was open to the idea of not having freshmen at the rallies.

“The pep rallies at West were pretty lit,” Rodriguez said. “Safety is important though, and I can’t really say how I feel as I haven’t seen any pep rallies at RHS before.”

Freshman Damian Salinas says that he’s disappointed that freshmen won’t be able to attend most of the pep rallies.

“I heard that freshmen weren’t allowed because there’s too many kids,” Salinas said. “I am excited for Homecoming though; it should be pretty nice.”