Dear Old Hill,

It is the one hundred and thirtieth year of rivalry between Hill and Lawrenceville. One hundred  thirty times has this week been celebrated with bonfires, pep-rallies, spoon banging, dorm banners as well as the annual red meat dinner. As our team are essaying on the field, we anticipate that one day, Lawrenceville will come tumbling down the Hill. Amidst all this ‘friendly’ competition, are we really fighting for dear old Hill through all this negativity?

Each year, third formers join the Hill community, and are expected to establish high school spirits in preparation for the annual Lawrenceville week. Without any preparation, they join the intense rivalry as if they have been apart of it for years. Our every activity centered around the mutual hatred between Hill and Lawrenceville, chanting the line, “Kill the Ville” or other vulgar lines that demonstrate our abhorrence towards them. We have established the mindset of supporting our team as they fight for dear old Hill, cheering one another as they take on another game to beat L’ville. With all this negativity occurring during this ambitious week, it is a chance for the Hill community to come together despite the  disputes among our community.

The purposeof rivalries is to compete against each other in different sports on a battleground to prove who is “superior” over another. Each year, the excessive negativity going into L’ville week is utterly ludicrous. The unhealthy hatred on another school is almost forced upon Hill students, as if it is our obligation to join the “cult” by celebrating another L’ville week with our old traditions. Not to mention that Lawrenceville students, perhaps, celebrate this traditional week with similar events, but the negativity is carried into every academic day and every sports game we play during that competitive week.

By turning Lawrenceville week into a more positive rivalry, this will bring a healthier mindset to students and faculty, as well as bring out a rather friendly competition between Lawrenceville. On the battlefield, we will always stay loyal, no matter if they lose or win it. Even with little hope at any given moment, we will always stay true to our motto, for whatsoever things are true.  Instead of chanting,“kill the Ville”, we can change it to a more positive cheer, such as “Go Hill, beat the Ville!” Mitigating the negativity will only create a tighter bond among the Hill community, and isn’t that the goal we aim to achieve everyday – to build a stronger sense of community here at Hill?

Of course, there will always be some sort of negativity when competing to be the best. As we come together this weekend with Lawrenceville, instead of focusing on being so negative towards them, perhaps we should put our efforts into supporting our team as we have done before: through positivity and sportsmanship. By doing this, we are beating L’ville by better playing. So this week, let us all encourage a positive spirit, stay faithful and true as we fight for dear old Hill.