Two-time Michigan High School Athletic Association “Battle of the Fans” winner, TCW Bleacher Creatures, are one of the most known student sections in Michigan. The student senate wants to make sure there is a lot of noise and commotion when it comes to the student sections, so in order to do that, they have leaders in the front, known as the Bucket Brigade. This year, the student senate is making an effort to allow more people to be involved in Bucket Brigade their senior year.
“I think it’s cool that a lot of people get to do [Bucket Brigade] and they give the chance to non-senators,” non-senator Bucket Brigade member and senior Ben Habers said.
At first, the change felt abnormal and unfamiliar to some students, especially to previous Bucket Brigade members, but the adjustment is growing on many people.
“I kind of think it’s strange, a lot of people want to be on it so we have to make a compromise. I mean it’s good to change it up a bit,” senior and student senator Lila Warren said.
All students didn’t just get a free pass to Bucket Brigade though. In order to have the position, Bucket Brigade members had to undergo a brigade try-out under the pressure of other students. Habers claimed the try-outs were “awkward”, but he did not give up his spot.
“We just had to do a chant in front of a bunch of student senate people and just show them that you can get really wild… I did the ‘you can’t do that’ chant,” Habers said.
Habers claimed that he worked hard to stand out from the rest of the candidates. Some students may find Bucket Brigade tryouts to be challenging if you don’t have experience with being a student leader.
“I’d say I have connections in [senate], obviously to the governor and the people who were on brigade, so senate also helps me get out in the lunchroom, [publicize] and be vocal so that kind of carries over to brigade too,” student senator and junior Aidan Orth said.
Another responsibility Bucket Brigade has is promoting games, especially big ones. Many students are very excited for the last game of the season, the Patriot game. The football players take on rival school Central High School in an intense game, bringing in a crowd of students and parents.
“[I’m most excited for the] Patriot game because it’s the most fun and everyone’s super excited and jumping up and down and everything’s just so fun,” Warren said.
With the Patriot game coming up on the horizon, Bucket Brigade members have to prepare to make the student section enjoyable. Orth, the only junior on the brigade, has high hopes for new changes in the student section this year.
“I think, hopefully, the [people wanting to sit in the] front row will not be an issue this year. I hope people will be more understanding and there won’t be as much complaining about where they sit in the section, especially seniors. I think this year should just run smoother; there’s also a lot more energy in the senior class this year than there was last year. I think it’ll be fun,” Orth said.
