Pep rallies are known to be high-energy, spirited, and joyful events. However, many rumors surrounding the upcoming pep rally this Friday, March 9, make it seem as though this one will have a more somber tone. The pep rally will reportedly start off with an assembly-like setting for memorial dedicated to the victims of the Stoneman Douglas shooting.

While these rumors are true, Sarah Sanford, Student Government (SGA) Advisor, wants to make it very apparent that the tribute is not meant to be unsettling.

“Our intent isn’t to sensationalize the tragic incidents that happened at Douglas,” she said, “It really is to help our student body recognize and process how they feel about what happened, and to remind our student body here that we are a family at Robinson… we are a safe community and we want to come together as a community and remind students of that.”

The tribute will include speakers like Principal Robert Bhoolai and Sanford herself, as well as some mystery guest speakers that Sanford hopes will help unify the school.

But because administration doesn’t want to cut into the usual 50 minutes dedicated to the pep rally, classes will be cut even shorter on Friday to make room for the memorial, making the pep rally nearly 90 minutes long.

Even though this pep rally has perhaps a more serious undertone in contrast with the other ones students have seen, SGA members hope that they will still have a chance to bring that peppiness to the school.

“I hope that the transitions [from the memorial to the pep rally] will be very smooth,” said Samuel Sawney, the pep rally’s stage director. “And I hope to see an increase in school spirit.”

The second half of the rally is jam-packed with exciting activities, from recognizing spring athletics, to fashion shows, to theatre performances and student dance-offs. SGA hopes that this pep rally will be one of the most surprising ones yet.

“We just want to… ensure that students can understand that we’re not ignoring the issue [of the shooting],” Sawney said. “We want to talk about it, and we want to have conversations, because there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from this shooting.”