The rising senior class kicked off the upcoming year with a senior night tailgate celebration in the parking lot June 6. SGA members treated juniors in attendance—decked out in Whitman gear and face paint—to refreshments, lawn games and photo opportunities.

Senior class officer Ray Crist led planning for the event, which was intended to unite the grade, get students excited for their senior year and give the rising class a chance to show off school spirit.

“The SGA does school-wide events, but not class-wide events,” Crist said. “I wanted to do something that would be fun for our grade to do together and would bring us closer, so I came up with having an event after the seniors left.”

Senior Night also served as a break from the rigorous academic workload that the end of junior year presents for many students. Juniors said they appreciated the opportunity to relax and bond with their class before senior year.

“Senior Night was really nice because it’s hard to see that many people in your grade at school because you don’t have classes with everyone,” junior Gabby Eyres said. “Everyone there shared the common interest of getting excited for senior year.”

Because SGA invited the entire rising senior class to the event via Facebook, senior night fostered a more inclusive atmosphere of school spirit than many other school-run events, students said. Ending the year this way inspired more juniors to get involved in future events.

“The event brought people who usually don’t attend events together,” junior Hope Hilsenrath said. “It showed that Whitmaniacs is not an exclusive community.”