By Alex Clark ’20
On Tuesday, April 16th, 2019 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors filled the gymnasium under the impression that they would be listening to campaign speeches given by the various presidential candidates. However, as soon as everyone settled into their seats, the lights of the gym turned off and a Bellarmine hype video played, showing various highlights of Bellarmine athletics. Following the hype video, Mr. Delateur and Mr. Langerman made their way to center court and gave a satirical campaign speech, which poked fun at many of the unattainable goals that presidential candidates set for themselves. Grant Caven ‘20 commented on the overall atmosphere of the assembly. “I thought everyone was pretty excited when Mr. Delateur and Mr. Langerman came out, at that point, I had no idea what was going on,” he said.
Then Ms. Pellerin took the stage and revealed what the assembly was truly about. Bellarmine ASB is changing its old ways, and instead electing a vice president and a president, ASB will now consist of a leadership team headed by three upperclassmen. The room was sent into shock and confusion. Sophomore Jackson Thompson ‘21 commented on the uncertainty he feels about this new change. “I really don’t know how having three presidents will work, I hope it ends up working, but I don’t really know what the dynamics will be like,” he said.
Ms. Pellerin explained that in order to inspire change, we must try different things. It has been apparent that what they have attempted to do in the past to rally school spirit has not worked. After providing a rundown of ASB’s plans for next year, several Yell Leaders (Bellarmine’s spirit team) walked out and led the students in a series of cheer activities. Finally, the main event came as the newly-appointed class presidents, Greg Brown ‘20, Buddy Nash ‘20, and Kalvin Lee ‘20 presented their commencement speeches.
The festivities of the assembly continued on with a game of tug-of-war between students and faculty. Afterward, Mrs. Luscher and a few other students played musical chairs to the tune of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. The last game of the assembly involved human bowling, where students would roll on skateboards to knock over various barrels.
Grant Caven and Jackson provided thoughts on the changes they would want to see for the future. “Personally, since I play lacrosse I would like to see more fans in the stands, this year it was pretty barren. Also, I just hope that it’s a fun year, I liked the events this year, and I hope they can be even better next year,” Grant said.
“I thought this year was exciting and I would [also] like to see some of the events get better for next year,” Jackson said in agreeance.
ASB has taken steps in the right direction, and students look forward to experiencing these changes in the next school year. Meanwhile, we will all have to just wait and see what happens.
Go Bells!