The fifth pep rally of the year, called the “Blackout” pep rally, took place Friday morning in the Coppell High School arena, prior to the Coppell-Marcus football game. The incorporation of glow-in-the-dark made it unlike the others before it.

Encouraged to wear white and neon colors, the student body swarmed into the bleachers, welcomed by the band, cheerleaders and Lariettes.

As has been tradition this year, the pep rally was led by Student Council President Jay Dempsey and senior Plunger Boy Nathan Payan, who greeted the audience prior to the series of performances by various CHS departments.

“That’s one of the great things about the pep rally, where you get to celebrate some of the accomplishments of our athletic program, the cheerleaders, the Lariettes, the band and the choir,” assistant principal Ryan Lam said.

LED lights placed on four sides of the arena illuminated the cheerleaders as they performed their routine in neon shorts and scrunchies, their faces and legs dotted with glow-in-the-dark paint. The drumline came next, standing out in glowing white shirts as they did their routine.

“It definitely led to a difference, compared to the last four pep rallies,” Lam said. “The kids shined, literally and figuratively. It was a good opportunity for them to have a little fun with it and see a different type of show.”

Students waved their phone flashlights and glow sticks about in the darkness, a move making the event reminiscent of a concert. During the school-wide “wave” around the room, the beams of light could be seen rippling in semi-coordinated motion.

The administration’s planning in making this pep rally unique has been in the works for a while.

“We started the planning process last spring,” Principal Dr. Nicole Jund said. “We wanted to do something special with a couple of the pep rallies so we looked at the calendar and tried to figure out where we could accomplish something like this.”

The idea for the pep rally seems to have originated from a video called “Why Isn’t My School This Lit?”, where a student plays the piano during a pep rally and the room descends into darkness. At CHS’s Blackout Pep Rally, senior Benjamin Henze played a short piece on the piano positioned in front of the band.

“It was very different from other pep rallies in the past,” senior Anika Qureshi said. “I think it was very fun because it was glow-in-dark-themed and that’s something I’ve never experienced before.”