The return of TitanFest
To view the activities that will be offered during Titan Fest, check out the map below!TitanFest to resume following two year hiatus.
Photo courtesy of Brian Rawlin and Leah Ray
Kevin Xiang, Staff Writer
TitanFest, Northview’s equivalent of a field day, is finally making a reappearance on April 1 after two years of COVID-19 cancellations. Northview’s student council and clubs have been working hard to prepare for this afternoon of fun.
TitanFest has acted as a cornerstone for Northview activities over the years. Originally envisioned as a way to disincentivize students from skipping school on the last Friday before spring break, TitanFest allows students to spend a couple of hours with friends at a school-based carnival.
“We have always had conversations about how to alleviate some of the stress that our students deal with throughout the course of the year,” Principal Brian Downey said. “What are the ways we can weave in some breaks, something different, something fun, just to make the high school experience better?”
Traditionally, TitanFest takes place at the stadium, with activities such as soccer, frisbee, and volleyball open for all students to take part in. Students are treated to free concessions from food trucks, and clubs set up booths lining the track with their own activities that students can enjoy.
Club officers have been brainstorming creative ways to contribute. Joline Tran, president of the Bullet Journal (BuJo) Club, wanted her idea to be representative of her club. As others decided to go with more generic ideas such as cakewalks or cup pong games, she wanted her table to exhibit bullet journaling, so students visiting her table will be able to make their own bookmarks and stickers, complete with BuJo calligraphy.
“I'm a bit nervous because it's very different from what other people do,” Tran said. “A risk here is that because calligraphy and bullet journaling isn't very well known, I don't know how many people are actually going to visit my stand.”
Maansi Manoj, president of the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), took a more personal approach. Manoj originally wanted to invite students to send emails to state senators about Georgia SB 435, a bill that would prevent transgender student-athletes from competing in the gender of their choice. This idea was rejected as a result of school policy.
“It would be a great opportunity [for] a bunch of people coming to your stand and [see] what you're all about and put some positive and good into the community,” Manoj said. “So I'm a little bit disappointed.”
As an alternative solution, GSA is now planning to give out pride pins to allow students to represent themselves.
Northview’s Student Council is responsible for organizing TitanFest, which many seniors do not recall and underclassmen have never experienced.
“I forgot what most of TitanFest was,” Leah Ray, senior and Student Council Secretary, said. “We actually had to inform everyone on [student council] because most of student council is freshmen, sophomores, and juniors and they've never had TitanFest. We had to tell them what it was about, but we don't really know what it's about either.”
Student Council is working to address the unfamiliarity in the rest of the school as well. Council members are wearing TitanFest shirts on designated days and have posted messages in class GroupMes in order to raise awareness of the event. In the week leading up to TitanFest, Student Council has also organized dress-up days in order to drum up excitement.
This aspect of unfamiliarity has also impacted Tran and Manoj who, as juniors, have never been to a TittanFest before. But both, like everyone on Student Council, are excited to try out something new and contribute to the event.
“This is something that hasn't happened in three years,” Ray said. “No one knows what to expect because everyone's new to it.”
