A pep rally is a tradition that is carried on in high schools all over the country. It’s a symbol of love and spirit for the school – one that Bearden is trying to revive in West Knoxville.

SGA will hold their annual pep rally at 8 a.m. on Friday in the gym to support the football team’s last home game, while also devoting attention to breast cancer awareness.

Instead of holding it at the end of fourth block, as they’ve done in the past, SGA decided on making the event a little more interesting by holding it in the morning and awarding the first 100 to arrive a free breakfast. The first 100 will be met with a smile, a donut, and a cup of hot chocolate.

The reasoning behind the pep rally is to get students more involved with school events. Not only is this benefitting the school, but they are also supporting the fight against breast cancer.

The whole rally will be themed pink for breast cancer, so they are hoping to see people not only come to support the school but also to get involved in the community.

In the past, they have had problems with the rally. SGA sponsor Mrs. Rachel Harmon said that the fact that the event was mandatory was causing the problem because the people that didn’t want to be there lessened the amount of pep actually going on during the event. They’re expecting around 200 people to show up this year.

“Attendance in the past has been high, but general level of school spirit was low,” Mrs. Harmon said. “People who don’t want to be there make it harder for the people in charge of pumping everyone up.”

At the event, there will be student-run games and special performances from school groups like the drum line and Bearden Singers.

“[The rally is supposed to] get people pumped up for the game, but also keep them conscientious about breast cancer,” Harmon said. “It’s a great time to come out and be proud to be a Bulldog and get excited about whatever event we’re supporting.”