High school seems to be the hub for favoritism. I’ve seen it everywhere throughout these last four years. Sometimes the preference doesn’t necessarily harm anyone else’s success, but other times it’s been proven to be cynical. 

These four years are crucial to our growth in so many ways, and there should be no room for favoritism. We should not be punished just because of preference.

Favoritism blooms from sports especially. Coaches for some reason think they’re above the system and do whatever they want. I’m not just speaking from my experience, but also others, when I say that so many coaches have unfairly suppressed athletes and their desire to stay in the sport. It’s completely acceptable when coaches separate athletes between varsity and junior varsity because of different levels of abilities. For example, a first pick for varsity should be a scholar athlete who is dedicated to the team and will follow school rules. But, there should never be a time when certain athletes are chosen over others just because they bond with the coaches better. 

Our jobs as athletes are not to suck up to the coaches, it’s to perform well and work hard. I’m so tired of seeing people who are more than deserving to be on varsity be put on junior varsity because of favoritism. I’ve seen it push so many people away from playing and from enjoying their time as an Aztec athlete. Coaches, you have to stop excusing your actions by saying that those you give more attention to are “better players”. How can they be better players if they can’t even keep good grades and are completely lazy at practice?

Going off of our super fair and completely enjoyable athletics, let’s talk about finances. Why do athletics get so much of our school’s money that’s meant for all students? Not just that, but certain sports get more than others, and that’s not fair at all. I’ve been forced to take part in numerous fundraisers just to simply afford equipment to play and still have had to use equipment that’s been used for what it seems like decades just because we just can’t afford it. There’s only so much a team can do with the little amount given to them. How about we distribute that money a bit better? 

Football had raised over $20,000 in just donations this year and still are given an excess of funds from the school. How is it that football gets a TV on the field to “review plays” while we see multiple other sports using balls from 10+ years ago? I don’t understand why this happens. Just because football is an American-loved, men’s sport does not mean they should be favored. Take pride in women’s sports too. Take pride in athletics at EHS as a whole. Take pride in your teams that actually perform well and are constantly proving they work hard.

There’s favoritism for athletics over arts as well. My favorite school I ever attended was a middle school that specialized in arts. It did a wonderful job at incorporating art in all aspects of school and encouraging their art programs to grow. What made this school stand out however, was that they provided equal opportunities to all students and their interests. Sports and arts were both given resources to grow. I’ve seen the benefits of the arts and believe our school should promote it more. And please don’t follow your pattern of favoring some arts over others, like Dance Team over Dance Company. Every group has their own specialty and we should nurture them all. 

Favoritism has killed EHS pride for far too long. Make it that all students feel they can succeed in anything they try here because the resources and support are provided. Erasing favoritism at the staff level will allow for talent to flourish. Students are given four years to grow and find new interests. That’s what high school should be about.