“Kids are inherently selfish,” said Valerie Roberson, Edmond Santa Fe English teacher. “So, doing crazy things to get them engaged, to me, is worth it if it’s supporting someone in need.”
Swine Week, Edmond Memorials, Philanthropy week, began in 1986. The origins of this week trace back to a group of students wanting to raise money for a friend in need of a kidney transplant.
Members of Student Council approached the principal asking to raise money for the transplant; adding the bonus of kissing a pig if they reached their goal of $2000.
This is where the sort of “dare culture” began. A little under 40 years later and EMHS has raised over 8 million dollars alone. Eating raw eggs, licking gym floors, wrestling in mashed potatoes, students around the state of Oklahoma have made the decision to raise money in any way possible.
“It’s so much more than the dares,” said Arianna Kouyate, Edmond Santa Fe Senior. “We dress up and have fun events like Wolfstock and Cultural Fair. The dares are a part of it, and they’re definitely gross, but it’s all going to a great cause.”
In recent news, people not within the school systems have thought these “dares” had no place in school.
“Who in the world came up with such a stupid disgusting idea,” said a Daily Oklahoman reader Ben Gadd. “Does the administrator that signed-off on this perverted activity still have a job?”
Many students have been upset about the negative attention the philanthropy weeks have received in the media. Students feel as if all of these activities are just a snippet of what weeks like Santa Fe’s “Double Wolf Dare Week” (DWDW), or Deer Creeks “Wonderful Week of Fundraising” is about.
“They aren’t talking about Mr. Blackwood’s pancakes he makes every year,” said Channing Hill, Santa Fe Pom captain and senior. “Or about the routines Pom, Cheer and Stomp work on for months to get prepared for the assemblies. They’re not talking about the hallways STUCO stayed hours after school to work on. They’re making a positive memory into something negative.”
The controversial traditions of these philanthropy weeks may be coming to an end due to the news attention. In turn, many students are worried that future classes won’t be able to experience the weeks in the same way that generations before them have.
Sharrin Jones, a three year member of Santa Fe’s STUCO, has witnessed their non-profit charity in action first hand.
“I wish that people would understand that what is on the media is only surface level of what these weeks mean to so many people,” Jones said. “We’re not just making fun high school memories for the students, but we’re changing lives in the community.”
