Why does everyone hate freshmen? Timpview freshmen have long been the subject of unrestrained torment and humiliation from the upperclassmen. They get chastised at school assemblies and rallies, often receiving the loudest boos and jibes from the other grades. Their conversations and greetings with fellow students swiftly end once they disclose their grade level. “I don’t know what’s worse, a room full of killer clowns or a room full of freshmen,” says a anonymous Timpview senior, “In a room full of killer clowns you might be a little creeped out, but a room full of freshmen would be so intoxicating that you would probably die of cringe.” Having recently come out of my freshman year I know what it’s like to receive such daily torment, however I find myself asking-do freshmen deserve the hate they get?
“Annoying. Pesky. Skibidi.” These are words that are commonly used to describe freshmen…but why? Why do so many people find freshmen obnoxious? “Literally everyone has had a negative experience involving freshmen,” says Timpview junior Jojo Boots, “They’re fresh out of middle school, which is like SO cringe, and they don’t know how to be quiet.” Jojo brings up an important point, maybe freshmen are annoying because they come straight out of middle school, which is a much different environment than high school. In middle school, crude, immature jokes are made on the daily, and loud obnoxious behavior is praised by fellow students, rather than condemned. The transition from the juvenile middle school environment to the mature high school environment can be hard, and this may lead to many freshmen acting the same way they did in middle school.
While the teasing and harsh treatment of freshmen may be cruel, many believe that it’s actually for the benefit of the incoming ninth graders. Senior Joseph Covey explains how he “think(s) they deserve the hate, because it builds character and it is something everyone has to go through.” Joey believes that being a freshman is a “canon event”, something that is essential to social growth and development. High school is not only a place for academic learning, but a place for social development and maturing. Being hazed as a freshmen is an essential part of life because it acts as an opportunity to learn and grow socially.
Speaking from the opinion of an educator, Cameron Chow, a language arts/journalism teacher for Timpview, views this stigma towards freshmen as crude, and unnecessary. He thinks that “it’s weird that we create this culture around hating freshmen JUST because they are freshmen.” He believes that instead of tormenting the freshmen, it would be better if “everyone sort of like hyped up the freshmen…so they could feel integrated.” He doesn’t understand why high schoolers hate freshmen so much. He thinks the upperclassmen should try to have sympathy for freshmen, and remember how hard it was when THEY were freshmen.
Mr. Chow brings up a valid point. I remember when I first came into high school, I felt the need to impress all of the cool, suave upperclassmen. However I felt like I was treated differently than kids from other grades just because I was a freshman. At all of the assemblies it seemed like all the focus was on the upperclassmen, and that the freshmen were there simply for formality. The school’s social media seemed to be dominated by pictures of juniors and seniors, and contained a noticeable lack of freshmen. I wanted to fit in with the rest of the students, but I couldn’t help but feel like I didn’t belong. I think this lack of belonging contributed to my annoying and pesky behavior as a freshman. I felt like in order to be seen, I had to act out and say stupid stuff. I didn’t really care what people thought of me or my behavior, because their expectations and the way they treated me was already low.
Perhaps the reason behind why we tease freshmen isn’t completely because they are annoying. Maybe it’s because that’s how we were treated when we were freshmen. What if we’re just repeating the things said about us when we were first entering high school. I mean, we were all freshmen at one point, so we know what it’s like to be made fun of and excluded from the high school culture. It’s unrealistic to completely stop teasing freshmen, because it helps keep the freshmen in check, and also helps them mature. However, we should try to do a better job of including freshmen, rather than alienating them. Let us not view them as these weird, unfamiliar creatures that are destroying our school, let us view them as mini versions of ourselves, starting their own journeys of social development and self discovery.
