By Caitlin Acker and Kate Sturgill
Staff Writers
With the construction of the new stadium, the revival of gameday traditions is emerging in the form of yellow stickers that students see every time there’s a home football game. Even though these stickers may seem insignificant, they actually have a rich history and are essential to the culture at R.J. Reynolds High School. One particularly involved student, Katy Cox, has been devoted to connecting alumni and current students by bringing back this classic tradition every Friday.
As a third-generation Reynolds student, Cox is surrounded by alumni, so the lack of clear communication between the school and former students wanting to attend games at the new stadium inspired her. She began an organization that could effectively streamline information to raise alumni attendance at the games.
“Seeing that there was no communication that allowed alumni to know where to go and what to do on gamedays started the initial idea of the Demon Student Alumni Council,” Reynolds senior Cox said. “Hattie Boone and I came together and founded it, so we started brainstorming ways to not only reach the alumni that already wanted to come, but also to reach out to more alumni in general.”
It was connecting with alumni that gave Cox the idea of reintroducing Beat ‘Em tags to the student body on home football game days. She and other members of the council pass out yellow stickers that say ‘Beat ____’ with the name of the opposing school, along with the group sponsoring the stickers for that game. The Beat ‘Em tags weren’t always stickers, though. There’s actually a rich history behind these fluorescent icons one may see around the school on Fridays.
“They used to have a club at Reynolds called the Pep Squad, and for every single game they would make handmade Beat ‘Em tags that were on paper, and they would cut them out and pass them out to all the students to put safety pins onto their shirts,” Cox said. “The alumni were saying they’d love to see this tradition come back, so we were thinking the stickers would be a great thing for us to do to have unity among the students and the alumni, as well as to create excitement over the game to get more alumni to come.”
Frank Johnson, a graduate of Reynolds in 1983 and a former Key Club officer, helped bring this tradition back to life. Johnson enjoyed his experience at Reynolds so much that he has devoted his days to spreading that same joy to current students.
“I knew alumni would be coming back to games for the first time in years,” Frank Johnson said. “I thought it would be good to have some of the traditions there for them to connect with.”
Although the concept of the stickers remains the same, they have become much easier to use than in years past. The alumni and friends association helped improve the design of the stickers, making them easy to affix during the school day. With the success of the stickers, the alumni are hoping to bring back other traditions, such as the Homecoming parade.
“Having a stadium on campus is a big deal, and bringing back a homecoming parade, where all the different clubs can construct a float to contribute, is super attainable now,” Johnson said. “I remember staying up all night with my friends from Key Club, making a float for the next day, and that’s one of my favorite memories of high school. I hope that possibly reviving that tradition can give students the opportunity to make memories like that with their friends.”
Although many are glad this iconic tradition has made its way back to Reynolds, there are still so many aspects of this school’s culture waiting to be revived. The alumni community really wants to bring Demon pride to current students and fill the school with spirit for sporting events, especially with the excitement of the new, on-campus stadium.
So the next time you see Cox handing out yellow stickers at lunch, grab one and put it on, while remembering that this isn’t only a symbol of Reynolds pride, but a key landmark in the rich Reynolds history.