“Sit Down! Shut Up!” “Sieve! Sieve! Sieve!” “You’re All Ugly!” These chants, which are embedded in the culture of SHS sporting events, regularly reverberate throughout the rowdy fan section of Sailors’ hockey games. That is they used to….

During this year’s hockey season, Scituate High School super-fans were told to reconsider their choice of words while cheering on their beloved team. In particular, the high school administration cautioned seniors: turning their backs on the opposing team or chanting with inappropriate language could result in exclusion from all upcoming graduation activities.

Although rude chanting was a focus for SHS administration during hockey games, there has been controversy regarding negative cheers throughout the winter sports season. Nevertheless, from being called out by the administration, or simply being removed from the fan section, students have remained adamant about continuing their tradition of using these cheers to create a buzz within the crowd.

Senior varsity hockey player Ben Smith respectfully disagrees with the administration’s push to end the traditional cheering. He said, “We love them. I love ‘Let’s go Scituate!’” Smith added, “A good old fashioned sieve chant is something I’ve grown up hearing.” When asked how the chants affect the team, Smith said the cheers encourage the team to play even better.  “Hockey is a pretty aggressive game,” he said. Smith believes it is the students’ right to support their school with a cheer.

Assistant Principal Brian Duffey explained that Scituate High School should cheer in a way that will still achieve the level of excitement experienced at other games.  From his standpoint, jeering doesn’t accurately represent the students or the town.  Regarding the negative chanting, he stated, “We have gotten emails and comments from other principals.” Duffey said, “(It’s) Embarrassing for us, and it doesn’t reflect well on us.” Duffey questioned why such a good hockey team needs rude or inappropriate chants as encouragement.

When asked how students and respective fans of Scituate should respond to negativity from opposing fans, Duffey recommended taking the high road, alluding to Michelle Obama’s advice: “When they go low, we go high.”