LM’s longest rivalry continues. The school’s 126-year spirit battle against Radnor proceeds amidst the detriments of COVID-19, and this year the Radnor Committee announced that from November 16 to November 21, the Aces would show their school pride with a series of themed days leading up to the Saturday of the game. Beginning in 1897, Radnor Week has remained an essential event to each school year as students gather to support the Aces’ football team. In the past, Student Council has hosted a wide range of activities to allow students to integrate themselves as a part of LM’s pride. These activities consisted of themed attire, hallway wars, Maroon & White Games, and a variety of other ways to support the school.
For the 2019-2020 school year, during the entire week prior to the football game, students were encouraged to dress in beach attire, pajamas, and, of course, all-black on the Friday before the game. These black shirts, referred to as the Beat Radnor shirts, are a consistent aspect of Radnor Week as each year, the Radnor Committee creates a new design relating to the rivalry and sells them to students. Sweatshirts are also typically sold to LM students, and this year, the Spirit Committee even included face masks. The sweatshirts are printed with the quintessential “Beat Radnor” slogan, and the masks are a representation of LM spirit so they can be worn throughout the school year.
To accommodate for the modifications COVID-19 has presented to the LM community, there were a few adjustments made to Radnor Week. Allie Stewart ’21, a member of the Radnor Committee, explained, “This year, we are doing some virtual activities that we think will be interactive and fun for people to participate in just to try to build morale and keep the tradition of Radnor Week because that’s very important to us.” LM persisted with the themed attire for this year with pajama day, beach and tourist day, celebrity day, throwback day, and finally, black-out day. To truly encompass the atmosphere for all sports and to motivate LM football players through the pandemic, Stewart also expressed, “On Friday we will be having a super awesome, very detailed ‘hype video’ for the football team and all the fall sports because we want to make sure that everybody is included in the spirit and we also really want to make sure we support our football team because we can’t be there on the day of the game.” Though LM students were not all permitted to attend the Radnor vs. LM football game, some thought that the diligence of the Student Council still strengthened the team. As Izzy Bonita ’22 remarked, “With COVID-19 this year, all of the annual events at LM may look different, but we are very excited and appreciative of the Radnor Committee trying to keep our school spirit high during these difficult times.”
A part of the LM’s Student Council, PhilCo has also arranged a multitude of events for our students. Commencing with an opportunity to aid Webster Elementary School and Coaches vs. Cancer, they hope to allow students to “Boo” other members of the community with treat baskets paid for by each student. Similarly, they are planning an Among Us tournament to increase class participation for both students and teachers with a five dollar entrance donation and the possibility of a school-wide event for the finals. Despite not being able to host pep rallies and unite all of the district’s eager student body, LM has found distanced and safe methods to incite enthusiasm through each of their creative activities.
