MHS may soon be singing a new song

Maricopa High School’s student council members want a new fight song, actually the old fight song with some new wording.

Student council president Tatum Early and MHS Principal June Celaya presented the proposed changes to the district’s governing board at their Wednesday meeting.

The rationale for the change, as presented in writing to the board, states, “Maricopa High School has struggled to maintain an active, dynamic school climate.” Problems noted were lack of unity and school traditions; student council believes the fight song adds to those problems.

The current fight song was written in the school’s infancy (the 50th anniversary of MHS was celebrated last month).

The words to the original and current Maricopa Fight Song are:

“O when the Maricopa Rams fall in line
We’re gonna win the game another time
And for the dear old school we love so well
For the RED WHITE BLACK, we’ll yell and yell and yell
We’re gonna fight, fight, fight those ____________
Until those Rams prove they can win again!
We’re gonna push those ___________ on the floor, out the door
WIN! WIN! WIN!”

Student council believes the original lyrics are sometimes confusing. “Some of the lines sound defeatist and negative,” says the rational for change. Other issues include too much emphasis on violence and the fill in portions, which change with every team played. The fight song is primarily used at pep assemblies, a difficult task with no opponent present, according to Early.

The students’ revision keeps much of the original song intact, adding more specific wording. Their intent was to create a fight song that students would learn and sing. They also hope to purchase a banner for the gym with the new wording prominently displayed, as well as school pride shirts with the lyrics printed on the back.

The revised Maricopa Fight Song goes like this:

“O when the Maricopa Rams show our pride
We’re gonna win this game every time
And for the dear old school we love so well
For the RED WHITE BLACK we’ll yell and yell and yell
We’re gonna fight, fight, fight for victory
Until the Rams go down in history
We’re gonna prove our spirit with our fight, with our might
WIN! WIN! WIN!”

MHS Band Director Ivan Pour and several members of the band played the new fight song for the school board members while Early and a friend sang the new lyrics.

“Students were not sure this really represents who we are,” Celaya told the governing board. She added that they were concerned with the perception of violence and not having to prove they would win again.

Board vice-president Tracy Davis said she “understood the intent.” However, she had hoped to see the entire school population surveyed. Early admitted that only student council members had worked on the fight song and “had tried to change the new song as little as possible.”

A former MHS teacher, board member Carrie Vargas, noted, “I never did understand the whole fill in the blank thing.”

“I think we need to table this until there is a better scope of community input and student input,” said board member Tim White. “If you come back with some kind of consensus, I’ll support it.”

“We could survey it and make sure the whole school likes it,” agreed Early.

Changing the fight song from the older version to a new one will be the subject of an all school survey at MHS. Members of the community who would like to comment on the changes should contact student council adviser Bernadette Russoniello via e-mail at [email protected].

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