Why doesn’t anybody know the school song?
While knowledge of the Alma-Mater is nearly universal, our school’s fight song is seldom sung by students.
Students across BSM, sadly, don’t know the school fight song.
Silence fills the student section of the bleachers as the fight song blasts from the band. Last year, Dr. Kevin Gyolai challenged the student body to learn the entirety of the fight song, and yet every pep rally is filled with mumbles when the fight song rings out from the bandstand. Every BSM class since the creation of the Alma-Mater has learned that anthem word-for-word, but the fight song has been set to the wayside.
Sports and school pride are huge parts of the culture at BSM, yet the few students who know the fight song only know it because they had to learn it. “The only reason I know [the fight song] is because my parents told me to learn it,” senior Sean Lynch said.
His knowledge of the fight song puts Lynch in the ever-shrinking group of students who have the fight song memorized. It’s possible that the cadence would spread if all of the students who knew it sang it, but that isn’t the case. “I’m in band, so I can’t sing when it plays. Not only that, but let’s be real here, the students who know the school song aren’t always at sporting events,” Lynch said.
The only time the entirety of the senior high student body hears the fight song is at the homecoming pep rally, and after that, the band can be tuned out and the sign in the gym that displays the words can be overlooked.
Many students find the school song to be a ridiculous, dead tradition. Not only that, but with the Alma Mater to remember, most students don’t feel the need to learn the song. “I don’t know the [fight] song. Why learn it? It’s not like I have to know it or anything. Nobody knows it because nobody cares,” junior Spencer Becker said.
The solution to this problem is simple: teach the freshmen the fight song along with the Alma Mater at orientation. However, this is easier said than done, since, even if it was taught, it’s unlikely students would remember: “[Link Crew] may have taught us the fight song at orientation, I don’t know,” Becker said.
BSM teaches its students that knowledge is power, but at BSM, knowledge of the fight song isn’t power, it’s pointless.
Precious Walker • May 21, 2020 at 4:43 pm
Go Benilde St. Margaret’s high. We cheer with pride today. Our voices strong with courage hear the cry and join in song to say… Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight, fight, fight, for honor and pride. Red and white, all hail to your side. Red Knights will ever be charging on to a victory. Yeah!