February 22, the all-school event took place in the field house from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. This year, the event was the final Class Cup competition. Students gathered to participate in activities such as dodgeball and chess tournaments.

While this is the third year that Congress has managed the class cup, the upcoming all-school Class Cup event has only occurred once, which was two years ago in February of 2017. Before that, all-school events have mainly been dances.

Every other year, students plan for Dance Marathon, a much larger event that requires more time to set up. In this event, Congress sets up several committees that are led by Congress members and seniors. T-shirts, stickers, and headbands are often procured for Dance Marathon. Several sponsors are selected to help support the charity. The day is jam packed with fun activities, an endless supply of food, and music that plays 24/7. The majority of the student body attends to support the fundraiser, which varies each year. Dance Marathon is one of the largest events of the year.

Although the all-school events may have activities like those that might occur at Dance Marathon, they are on a much smaller scale. However, Congress members encourage the student body to participate as much as they can.

Each year, Congress plans these functions, spending several weeks setting the event up. Yet the Class Cup itself has been around for the entire year with the goal of creating some friendly competition between the grade levels. Congress delegates a certain amount of points to the different events that take place throughout the year.

“We count basic events like spirit week,” Will Forsen (’19), student body president, said. “We also delegate points for spectators at games of the week, Montgomery Plan activities, trivia nights, blood drives, and most importantly, the final class cup culminating event.”

As these events take place, members of Congress tally up the points on a shared spreadsheet, keeping track of each grade’s progress.

“It’s definitely impartial,” Matthew Fan (’19) said.

The junior class remains in the lead with the seniors trailing in second place, though the Class Cup event could change the order of classes. It depends on the participation of each class and their ability to win the activities.

However, there is some controversy surrounded the Class Cup. Students debate whether Congress should even continue to manage it.

“It can be fun sometimes, but it kind of feels pointless because the seniors win anyway,” said Tina Chen (’20). At the same time, Chen added, “It does encourage kids to get more involved with the school.”

Andrew Keeney (’19) suggests that the competition be administered by the teachers. “Teachers should give points, like in Hogwarts, but the students should still plan the events.”