Imagine, for a second, you have a test during your B block. You know it’s going to be tough, but if you spend community time studying you just might pass. Then you remember with a horrified jolt that you won’t get to study. It’s Monday. You have an assembly. You’re going to sit bored for half an hour. You’re probably going to fail your test.
So, what is so important about that half hour assembly that students are forced to prioritize attendance over studying? I expect that the assemblies are supposed to inform us about the schedule and foster school spirit. ASB executives put a lot of time and effort into presenting these topics. It’s a noble goal. But one the school fails at.

There are some important and interesting bits in our assemblies. The weekly announcements are crucial for a well-informed student body. Without sports schedules, the Pumadome bleachers would be empty(er) at every game. But the rest of the information is snooze-inducing. I can check the lunch menu in fifteen seconds through Veracross. Puma of the week is usually decided by a tiny voter turnout. Most students don’t even want to be in assembly, let alone spend more of their time voting. As for the game—eight people are summoned to take part. The entire school gathers to watch a handful of peer-pressured volunteers play with blocks.
If you are going to force the entire student body to slowly file into the Pumadome, squeeze them into doll-sized bleachers, and then file everyone out just as languidly, you better have a good reason for doing so. Five scant minutes of necessary information aren’t worth the time or the discomfort.
I am not advocating for the abolition of all assemblies. Music, social justice and Indigenous People’s days are time well spent. I don’t want to ditch the ceremony around the beginning and end of every school year. What I want is to end the weekly assembly. It is a dinosaur, whose time has come to make way for announcements delivered through the PA system.
It’s an obvious change. We have a box in every classroom called a Public Announcement System. Why are they never used? Announcements on air every Monday morning would allow us to skip the pointless bloat of assembly. The time saved from not going to cramming into the gym every week could be used in advisory, a group where students have actual input, and people I know actually enjoy being. There is no reason to keep wasting everyone’s time. The student body deserves better.