The girl’s state semifinal basketball game kicked off yesterday, which means Benilde-St. Margaret’s had students check in at the game if they purchased a ticket. On March 13th, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s basketball team played Roosevelt at Maturi Pavilion in the quarter-final game.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s students who bought a ticket showed up and supported the girls’ basketball team. Anyone from 9th to 12th grade could buy tickets to watch their school play. It is intended to increase the number of fans at the state tournament. My friends and I formed a group to attend the basketball game together but the tickets weren’t that much and they were worth it to go watch the Benilde-St. Margaret’s team play basketball. The thought of students getting together to watch their high school team play was amazing.
I recommend we have school off for any team that’s in the state tournament. Making it an asynchronous day and having all the students show up for big games would show what the student body is all about at BSM. It makes no sense to have school from 8 am to 10 am, leave for the game, and then come back for a little bit of the 5th hour. I think the policy is over the top because having teachers who are checking phones to see if you bought a ticket is a little crazy. Teachers and staff should trust our students. Students only could leave if their parents excused them. It seems dramatic to check tickets again as students who can be out of school will all obviously have a ticket.
Although we still had school on the day of state, I think it is crucial that our school comes and shows support for its team no matter what the policy. Many students take school spirit seriously and love to support all BSM athletics. Students come to games wearing their student section themes to show support and just show people who they’re there to cheer on. My friends and I love it when we play in front of a student section because they cheer you on to win. At rivalry games like Edina vs Benilde-St. Margaret’s, for example, student attendance is through the roof.
On top of that, technology makes it easier for students to access their tickets to scan in at games. Teachers were there making sure students who bought a ticket could go to the game and not leave school for no reason. I get why they made the policy like that, but they should trust our students. Either way, with or without this policy, students who wanted to would just leave school because they wanted to go home and think it was a free pass to skip school for the day. Instead, we should fully support our student-athletes and have everyone make it to the games just to show what the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights are all about.