By Nicholas Wang ’25

The Pep Rally on October 6th marked a star event of Durham Academy’s Homecoming. On a crisp Friday morning, the Upper School masses began to roll into Kirby Gym. Despite the early gathering time, the Spirit Committee’s work quickly reversed the lethargy. With no time wasted the gathering was soon, as an anonymous Junior termed it, “electric.” The Pep Rally is a long-standing tradition at DA, but despite this, the Spirit Committee did not stick to the norm. As Spirit Committee co-chair, Ama Mensah-Boone ‘23,  said: “We wanted to show off a lot of different sides of our school…I feel like [a lot of] those are kinda forgotten.” Indeed, the diverse performance showcased the traditional fall sports introductions and the Alma Mater but it also featured showings from the Dance Club and XIV Hours. The creative events that took place were unforgettable. Starting off strong with musical chairs between the lowerclassmen and then the upperclassmen. This competition starred collisions and arguments that filled the hollow gym. Next was the sleeping bag/sack competition: a choppy race from start to finish (my personal favorite due to Sarp Erden’s (‘25) headfirst collision), littered with sudden stops and uncontrolled turnarounds that flipped the tide every second. Of course, the unbeatable enthusiasm from Ama and Clay tied the occasion together. Overall, the 2023 Upper School Homecoming Pep Rally successfully established itself within a busy fall, bringing a distinct lightheartedness to the student body.