As a community, it’s important to cultivate school spirit. We do this through pep rallies, football games, assemblies and many other school wide events. A talent show, though relatively common among several schools, is absent from the WJ activity agenda. How would implementing a talent show impact our WJ community and environment?

Point: Raquel Daley

Last year, WJ hosted the annual MSP retreat and incorporated a major highlight, the talent show. As an audience member, I had never seen such momentous support in a school facility. The event was incredibly uplifting and community building for everyone in that auditorium. Acts such as singing, dancing, playing instruments and a fashion show were given a platform. The energy in the crowd was contagious; there was roaring applause and even a moment where everyone brought out their iPhone flashlights in response to a musical act.
With a talent show, students are able to see the capabilities of their peers and take away something in the end, whether that be a good laugh, inspiration or just the excitement, in general. Opening up this event to the entire school would insert a positive activity in the WJ agenda. There is a huge variety of talent among the student body. Giving them an opportunity to share their abilities creates a venue for student expression. Also, non-traditional talents can be acknowledged.
WJ can demonstrate the value they have for student spirit outside of the classroom. A talent show is different from gathering to watch our school sports teams. The stage is open to anyone. I think this addition would provide something to look forward to in the school year.
Logistically, it would be hard to fit all of the students into the auditorium. However, we could make the event a multi-night fundraiser, raising money for different causes in the WJ community. If the talent show was promoted around the school and well-decorated, I don’t doubt that it would be an occasion that students and families would embrace.

Counterpoint: Ila Gordan

Conceptually, the idea of a schoolwide talent show is fantastic. What a way to gather the community to celebrate each others’ talent? Realistically however, this ideological result would never be realized.

Students who would choose to take a more passive approach to invalidating the talent show would act disrespectfully in the audience, laughing at performers or talking over acts.
Not only are these expected behaviors wildly disrespectful, but they would delegitimize the true talents that are showcased, rejecting the entire purpose of the talent show to recognize the abilities of their peers.
Because of WJ’s enormous student body, the logistics of getting the whole school together is highly questionable. And, even if we attained this goal, disrespectful noise from the audience would only be heightened by the sheer amount of people there. Think about normal assemblies– the school must be split into three parts because we don’t all fit in the auditorium. This would require WJ to rent a space off campus, costing money, and also limiting the amount of attendees as not all WJ students would be willing to pay a fee. The only time the whole school is all together for an event is pep rallies. Even then, we fill up the entire bleachers, and both sides, which for a talent show is incredibly impractical because the performers’ back would be to half the student body the whole time. Of course this option is heavily dependent on weather.
There is a plethora of talent among WJ students, but because of the immaturity level of students and space considerations, I’m convinced that a talent show is not the best way to display it.