A catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy has recently occurred on the once-hallowed grounds of WJ’s football stadium: The WJ Baby has been imprisoned.
Much as the great statue Colossus once towered over the port of Rhodes, the WJ Baby stood for many years as an irreplaceable symbol of WJ pride and school spirit. Each time the doll was repeatedly vaulted into the air, allowed to soar above WJ’s bleachers at a football or hockey game, the hearts of many Wildcats were stirred and their athletic enthusiasm was renewed.
But during a football game against B-CC on Sept. 6, due to concerns of flying object-related injuries, the doll was confiscated from the student section and locked away in the main office. While this requisition’s safety-related motives are understandable, removing such an iconic emblem of WJ culture may worsen our school’s current identity crisis.
The only way to simultaneously ensure student safety and protect school spirit is to reach some kind of compromise, allowing the baby to soar without breaking any school rules. But whatever this compromise may be, one thing is certain: the WJ Baby must be returned.
Any plan to reinstate the baby must first and foremost confront the issues that originally caused its incarceration. The primary basis for the seizure was WJ’s policy of immediately confiscating any airborne objects at athletic events, a reasonable statute considering the assailment of empty water bottles that regularly fly over students’ heads at football games.
But is this rule so concrete that a small exception couldn’t be made? I believe that it is wholly unfair to judge an iconic and beloved symbol of WJ’s culture on the same grounds as a plastic water bottle, especially at the cost of such a valuable school tradition.
To be fair, the WJ baby has a relatively hard head, which could conceivably cause a minor injury if the doll fell from a high enough distance. Although a significant case of this has never been recorded, the risk must be addressed, so any compromise must include a method of softening the baby’s impact upon landing.
Still, there are a multitude of ways this could be done. Two of the most promising proposals for this solution include replacing the doll itself with a successor made from a softer material, or allowing students to take photos with the baby without throwing it into the crowd. Either way, there is no valid reason for safety concerns to stand in the way of its freedom.
A compromise is also well within reach; an anonymous representative of the WJ Baby has reported that they would be open to negotiate the baby’s return with WJ’s administration. This means that the only thing currently standing between the baby and its liberation is the willingness of administrators to negotiate.
I believe the WJ Baby’s current situation is encapsulated best by a quote from American revolutionary and politician Patrick Henry, who proudly exclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death!” during the 2nd Virginia Convention in 1775. This is because death and liberty seem to be the baby’s only two options in the near future: if the doll is not granted its liberty, allowed to ascend once more, the tradition will surely die and be forgotten.
Someday, I hope to live in a world in which the WJ Baby is allowed to take flight above our bleachers once more, unimpeded and unafraid. One can only hope for this future to be realized soon.
