LFA prides itself on its heart-warming traditions; however, for obvious reasons, many traditions have disappeared or been postponed due to social distancing measures. In addition, some of these traditions have fallen victim to a lack of commitment from the LFA community.  

One of the most unique events at LFA is the House Cup. The House Cup consists of 4 houses and each year there are various competitions to declare a winner. In recent years, the House Cup competitions have had less participants and the competition has dwindled. The most notable opportunity to accumulate house points is the February Frog Hunt, which consists of competitions such as scavenger hunts and puzzles. Students can also gain points at Morning Meetings by competing in games such as “Finish the Lyric” and “Guess the Logo.”

Although these are fun and provide a friendly competitive environment for students, some staple traditions have dropped out. There are no longer whole-school competitions and students have a lack of motivation to win the House Cup. Some of this has been due to COVID and there are many students and faculty members working to bring them back. However, much of the student body has not given much effort into many of the competitions. In order to truly bring back the drive for competition, there needs to be more activities for students to participate in. There needs to be more to do with athletics and some All-School meetings slots need to be dedicated to House Cup competitions. 

In recent years, the parking by Atlass has become a big topic of debate. The parking in front of Atlass is considered to be Senior Parking. While some may not consider this a tradition, it is a privilege that students wait for three years to have. However, more recently this privilege has been undermined by juniors and underclassmen who choose to park in Senior parking. There are only a limited number of spots available in Senior parking and no matter how many reminders the younger students receive, many still choose to take these spots away from the Seniors. If the underclassman could only wait their turn, then this specific tradition would be restored to its original regard. 

Another tradition or “unspoken rule” that is seemingly being undermined this year is Prom dresses. Because all grades at LFA get to go to Prom, there are a few distinct things that Seniors do in order to make their last Prom feel more special. Typically, the majority of Seniors will wear long dresses or gowns, while Juniors and underclassmen will wear knee-length-or-above dresses. Since we have not had a Prom since 2019, this “rule” has lost both its weight and prominence. The Class of 2022 is the only grade level left at LFA that experienced Prom before the pandemic. For many Seniors, this is a final hurrah, and they want to uphold these decade-long traditions. There is no intention to make any student uncomfortable, and unless a student has to wear a long dress, we want people to uphold this tradition and respect the decades-old traditions. Committing to this tradition is not an acceptable excuse to isolate any students who do not wish to follow it, but it is rather a cool custom that is abided by to give Seniors their last opportunity to shine on the dance floor.  

There are other traditions such as the All School Handshake, Move-Up day and the Athletic Ceremony that have been changed in past years due to the pandemic. It is our hope and plea that these will return to the original traditions that they once were.