Keely Cabatuan | Photo Editor & Sienna Miller | Head Editor
September 6, 2024
With the start of a new school year comes football season, the most monumental time for students at SCHS. Last week San Clemente was awarded student section of the week in Orange County. During these games, SCHS students come together to be a part of loud crowd where they get to express their excitement for the players and the game as a whole. Our school hosts arguably the most vibrant, exhilarating high school football games in the area.
However, because it’s so high in attendance, even in the first game alone, it is noticeable that there has been an increase in challenges for the students and staff. With both a lack of room for students to participate coupled with poor security, SCHS football games are becoming much more difficult for the students to have fun, unproblematic games.
Anyone who was in the student section last Friday saw the chaotic reality of the game. To simply get in to watch the game there is a war between students to be first in line. Students swarm outside in big crowds with all their friends which makes getting in extremely difficult and a time-consuming process. There is no order and no line until students are through the gates.
“I was way later to the game than all of my friends,” voiced senior Tessa Fradella. “Because there was no real line, me and everyone else who was late just cut in with our friends. Because of this, people were yelling and pushing each other to get to the front.”
Once a student finally gets inside, the bleachers are an entirely new obstacle to tackle. There are a limited amount of loud crowd wristbands given out at each game, however, that is not to say that the crowd is monitored appropriately. Although there are intense security guards, checking wristbands, and intimidating people, students still find a way to sneak in.
Students who are given wristbands often rip them off once they are in the stands and give them to other students who don’t have them. To even get a wristband you must have an ASB card, ABYSS card, or pay in a separate package. Many people cannot afford this, but they still want to have a fun game with their friends.
In addition, guards tend to check for wristbands after the students get into the stands. This creates mayhem as the teachers and supervisors yell at the students who aren’t accounted for to get out and they often refuse.
“During the game, I had my wristband it just wasn’t on my wrist,” stated Senior Salvotor Caudillo. “I was just trying to watch the game and then randomly, like half an hour in, a guard kicked me out.
Clearly, the security on the campus during these events isn’t sufficient enough for our intense student section. Either the security needs to monitor people fairly, or the school needs to work on expanding the loud crowd bleachers so there’s room for more people.
Not to mention, there were so many people at Friday’s game that the bleachers that were just redone last year broke entirely. This hazard was caused because of the overload of students in one section and students being irresponsible during the game.
But the truth still stands that students don’t want to be heavily watched during these games. A lot of backlash has occurred because there’s security at our games and not at other schools. However, this is most likely due to the amount of students in one place all at once compared to other schools with lower attendance at games. Because our school is known for our student section, it is clear that rules must be enforced.
In short, because these games are super exciting and one of the best parts of student life on SCHS campus, security needs to be improved and supervisors must ensure wristbands are on each person’s wrist instead of them just holding it to create a safe environment for students to have fun and cheer for our school.
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