JROTC sets up field day activities for cadets

Lining up on opposing sides, JROTC cadets prepared for “crazy ball.” The game, created by the cadets, was one of many played at their field day on March 31.

Every school year, JROTC leadership prepares a field day to give the cadets a fun yet beneficial break from their normal work, as well as to get cadets from different periods together. This year’s field day included activities like the Raider Challenge, dodgeball, soccer and kickball.

“A lot of the year we have been separated within different periods, but this is our chance to get people together,” executive officer Andrew Lane said. “One of the biggest things we focus on in JROTC is teamwork, and getting people together with people they have not been with before allows them to build different bonds and maybe make some new friends.”

The event started at the beginning of first period and lasted most of the day, allowing cadets to join the activities when they could. During activities, cadets were broken up into different companies, either Alpha, Bravo, Charlie or Delta, with company commanders and other leadership helping set up games and lead them.

While most of the activities were basic games like dodgeball and soccer, activities like the Raider

Challenge and crazy ball were games they came up with themselves. With the Raider Challenge, cadets were broken up into teams of 10 and ran one and a half miles with a 30 pound rucksack. The goal of it was to give a physical challenge, but also develop teamwork by not leaving anyone behind. Crazy ball was just their own adaptation of capture the flag where two teams try to grab a tennis ball from another team’s bin with the goal of getting the ball without getting their flag pulled.

While cadet leadership did not participate in the games, they still had responsibilities during that time. Leadership helped to set up and clean after activities, while also acting as referees for the various games. Between planning and execution, they did what they could to run their battalion like the leadership before them.

“When I was a freshman, the leader that I looked up to the most was the Raiders captain, and I followed in his footsteps and ended up really focusing on Raiders. [It] helped me build a lot of teamwork and leadership skills along the way, it [really is] the best hands down,” Lt. Col. Samuel Shultz said.

Within the field day activities, and the JROTC program as a whole, there is a focus on teamwork and building upon all basic and essential life skills.

“Other than physical activity, we learn about various things such as first aid, and how to be a better citizen in society,” Lane said. “It teaches you different life skills that you can use later on. [Between] career building skills and stuff you can use to get into college, JROTC can give you experience for that and help you proceed in life.”

Whether planning to join the military or not, JROTC helps students learn more about the world and themselves.

Through activities like field day, blood drives and classes that help cadets mentally and physically, the goal of events like this is not to just build future military personnel, but develop JROTC students into contributing citizens of tomorrow.

“JROTC is not about joining the military, it is about taking all of the things that are personal about you and building upon those. If you have discipline, we hone that discipline,” 1st Sgt. Louis Strickland said. “[It teaches] life learning skills, understanding of what is going on in the world and [offers] opportunities that help develop young people and turn them into outstanding citizens.”

Skyler Glenn | Editor-in-Chief

The first time I saw a drag performance, it was at Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando. I was 12 years old, and when the dancers came to my table, I smiled and clapped. I did not question my beliefs, my sexuality, or my gender. I did not feel like I was in “immediate serious danger.” But according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, I was. According to Florida House Bill 1423, I was traumatized by the performance and needed protection.

HB 1423, also known as “Protection of Children,” was introduced into the house on March 3. Its purpose is to prohibit children from attending “adult live performances” that depict nudity or sexuality, consequently fining, suspending or revoking the license of any establishments that allow children to see them. They claim that these shows put kids in danger and appeal to “prurient, shameful or morbid” interests.

At first glance, the bill seems like another unnecessary attempt to block children from seeing inappropriate content. However, the implications are already being felt in our community, and it hasn’t even passed yet. At Boone High School in Orange County, the annual “Drag and Donuts” event was shut down because it did not align with what the Florida Department of Education stands for.

This event was not a drag show. It was just a drag queen talking to students about their life.

The FLDOE promises that education is a top priority, then takes away harmless things that make students feel like they belong. They are conveniently ignoring—really, worsening—the depression and social anxiety that plague LGTBQ+ communities on our campuses. Drag queens do not pose a danger to our students. Censorship does.

Even though the bill’s primary intent is to shut down drag, it calls many other popular performances into question. School musicals like “Something Rotten” have sexual, even queer undertones—could they be banned under the bill? Even predominantly straight shows, like “The Crucible,” have mentions of sex and infidelity. Does this fall under the FLDOE’s umbrella of an “adult live performance,” or will it get a pass because it does not include anything gay?

It’s clear that the Florida GOP’s intent is not to protect our children—it’s to shut down our LGBTQ+ community. Yes, kids don’t need to be exposed to overly sexual entertainment, but that is not what these performances are about. Just like any other dance or vocal act, drag is an art. Silencing these performers from talking about who they are hurts them. Bill by bill, queer people in Florida are losing their freedom of speech.

Of course, this isn’t the only bill aimed at the LGBTQ+ community in 2023. In February, HB 1069 was filed, which targets the discussion of sexuality and gender in schools, a devastating extension to last year’s “Parental Rights in Education,” or “Don’t Say Gay,” legislation. This bill explicitly states that schools must be promoting abstinence out of wedlock and “teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage.”

The FLDOE is all about parental rights until they support gay people. It’s fine to push straight marriage, but if a gay teacher so much as mentions their relationship, they can lose their job. Last May, a Lee County teacher was fired after she told her middle school students that she is pansexual, upon being asked. At this point, the Florida government isn’t even trying to hide their homophobia—they want to pretend that homosexuality doesn’t exist.

Florida continues to move backwards, searching for a 1950s society in a 2023 world. The GOP is catering their political agenda to makebelieve problems, rather than addressing things that actually harm children, like guns and poverty. Ask yourself what is the biggest danger facing students today: getting shot at school or seeing a guy in a dress?