A freshman enters Benilde-St. Margaret’s feeling excited to make the most of his high school experience. At his previous middle school, he was involved in a wide variety of activities, from hockey to theater, and plans to do the same at BSM. But on his first day of freshman year, he gets a rude awakening. He’s always had a talent for singing, so he shows up to the informational meeting for the fall musical and finds only twenty other students there. Feeling embarrassed and scared, he decides not to audition after all; instead, he heads for boys hockey tryouts, filled with many other “normal” boys. He spends his freshman year on the JV team, secretly wishing he could be on the stage.
Many students at BSM feel pressured to play sports instead of participating in academic or artistic activities for a variety of reasons, including BSM’s and students’ attitudes toward these activities. This shift has been ongoing for several years and is negatively affecting students.
It used to be normal to participate in multiple activities—it was just a matter of having enough time, rather than social norms that push students away from certain activities. Football players would play trumpet and trombone in the school band, and dancers would spin plates on the wheel in ceramics class. Some teachers represent this versatility: would you ever guess that Coach Creer played French horn in his school’s marching band?
Participation in these extracurricular activities also used to be much higher than it currently is; speech used to be BSM’s largest activity, and now there are barely 25 people. In contrast, BSM’s largest club now, RKVC, has 321 students.
Specifically, participation in the arts—theater and music—has dropped. There were once hundreds of eager actors in the musical, and the risers at Mass used to be filled with enthusiastic singers. We think this is partly due to BSM’s attitude toward the arts: it seems at times that the administration doesn’t know or doesn’t care when concerts occur or when a music student wins an award.
On Saturday, December 6, Red Knotes, BSM’s acapella group, sang the national anthem at a Timberwolves game, but BSM failed to recognize this, partly because there was a BSM vs. Edina boys hockey game the same night. Yes, the BSM Instagram did post a story while the Red Knotes were singing, but nothing was announced ahead of time.
However, we would like to acknowledge that the administration is trying, to a point. The arts have been talked about more than they were two years ago, and students have been encouraged to go to concerts, but the activities are still underrepresented, especially compared to sports. The music concerts might have been announced on the loudspeaker this semester, but students ignored them.
Similar to the administration, students often ignore or even mock these activities as well. There is a definite social stigma surrounding them that is very visible in the BSM community. Students, especially underclassmen, often feel that to be accepted, they have to play a sport. Additionally, when most students enter a new school, they want to blend in, keep quiet, and follow the crowd’s expectations. This mindset doesn’t leave much room for portraying a comedic character in a musical.
More than just music, participation in other extracurricular activities, such as speech, knowledge bowl, and debate, has declined, and students are subconsciously pushed away from them by social stigmas. Students are seen as “too nerdy” if they participate in debate, and no one wants to be seen as excited to show up for a Monday morning math league practice.
These attitudes toward other activities are problematic because they create social conformity by pushing students away from joining activities they are actually interested in. This decline is also problematic because of the many benefits both arts and academic activities bring. Students who participate in arts programs scored higher on average on standardized tests compared to those who don’t, and students lose out on these benefits when they are pushed away from the arts. Academic extracurriculars are also beneficial: high school debaters have an estimated 20-30% higher acceptance rate at high-ranking universities.
BSM needs to create a better culture around the arts and academic activities by encouraging participation in them and announcing the awards students have won. Students also need to do their part: no one should be shamed or excluded for participating in an activity they love.
We are eager to do our part as a publication to encourage more participation in these activities. Please reach out to the Knight Errant if you want an activity to be covered at [email protected].