The Fraying Spirit of Copa Columbus

Even though the directives claim that the athletic portion of the school is highly important, this becomes debatable, as they absolutely degraded their most important tournament of the year: Copa Columbus. This year, instead of concluding class at 12:00 pm and allowing the students to watch the games until 3:15 pm, classed continued normally all day long. The only way to watch the games without skipping class, was if your teacher personally decided to take your class. Despite this, in order for this to happen a miracle had to occur, as only a small amount of teachers actually took their students.

Many empty bleachers and cheerless games were seen throughout Copa Columbus. Even when allowed to come, students were forced to prioritize, as they had to decide where to spend their precious time and often had to choose between which friend to support. For instance, Isabel Murillo, captain of the female basketball team, played through many silent games because of this, as she states that, “My games were also at the same time of the soccer games, and many people prefer to watch soccer than to watch basketball. There should be more support from part of  the school community so that we could truly feel like we are supported.”

Furthermore, the dramatic change hit so hard because, it was something that came out of the blue. For decades Copa Columbus had been a staple of Columbus School culture and spirit. “Copa Columbus used to be huge,” stated junior and sports enthusiast Valeria Ochoa,”but right now it’s like Copa Columbus does not matter, and they are taking credit  away from the sports.” Nonetheless, it is saddest when the players themselves feel disappointed, as does freshman volleyball player Salome Bayer. When she entered the team, she had high expectations for the famous High School Copa Columbus, but after getting dragged through her first, she feels let down, “I thought it would be great because in previous years it  had been, but I am disappointed.”

It feels like  disappointment is the only constant regarding these year’s games, as even High School principal Roger Arbabi feels the games were not properly celebrated. “You know what we wanted to do the same schedule for this year,” explained Arababi,” but because of the puente, we could not do Copa Columbus and COSMUN in the same week.” Additionally, even though he will not be here next year, he hopes that the original schedule will be followed, in order to avoid disturbances.

However, a change in the schedule will not complete solve this problem. Arbabi and the directives hope  “to close one week early the third trimester, and allow all the events to happen in one week because it causes so few disruptions for the rest of the school year.” Yet, when everything is forcefully bundled together there is no true recognition for each event, as everything should be allowed to shine on its own, and not be unwillingly placed under one spotlight. Even though this idea does indeed minimize disturbances for administration, why should  avoiding small annoyances be more important than giving students recognition?

Thus, as the school start prioritizing  inconveniences over hard work and dedication, pivotal events, like Copa Columbus, that that have held the Columbus School spirit through the years are being belittled, perhaps till the point of extinction. Due to the lack of collaboration and viable solutions provided by the directives, it is up to the students to keep the memory of what once was the greatest sporting event of the entire school year. Why have a Copa Columbus without Columbus?