Prior to kickoff, a post goes live, summoning students to the field in their themed outfits and face paint to fill the stands. An hour before the game, the student section is a swarm of gear, the students all butting heads to get the best seats. After the final whistle, another post appears, this time with silly photos, and inside jokes, all celebrating the win.
To some students, checking the “Hornets’ Nest” page is now almost a daily routine as essential to the high school experience, as the football games themselves.
Some students don’t realize the “Hornets’ Nest” page is not an official school account. Instead, the page is run entirely by students who not only dedicate their time to the posts, but also attend important sporting events. They must balance their schoolwork, social life, and responsibility of representing the student body. Along with the “Hornets’ Nest,” the student-run “Senior Assassin” page plays a major role in shaping the seniors’ culture beyond the classroom.
Students associate the “Hornets’ Nest” for its game day posts and school spirit. It is run by Seniors Ryan Maloney and Christian Quigley.
“I was chosen — as the leader [of the Hornets’ Nest] to express school spirit,” Maloney said. “We use social media to promote school sports and just try to get everybody involved in all the sports that are happening around the school.”
In addition to promoting attendance for school sporting events, the page holds a reputation for its humor.
“It’s to keep everybody excited that we’re a winning school,” Maloney said.
Running the account requires more behind-the-scenes work than most realize.
“It takes up a lot of time to make the posts, make signs and all that, [and] to show support for the teams,” Quigley said.
Rather than focusing on just one team, the members of the “Hornets’ Nest” attend and highlight most EHS sporting events ranging from football to field hockey.
“We try to shoot for the best games for each team that we think are most important to get fans to,” Quigley said.
While the “Hornets’ Nest” focuses on school spirit, other student-run pages serve different operational purposes. The “Senior Assassin” Instagram page, run by Kenzi Campbell, centers around organizing a senior game rather than promoting events.
“Senior Assassin” is a highly anticipated tradition and organizing the event comes with major responsibility. Campbell volunteered to manage the event, which includes running the Instagram page, assigning players, and setting guide- lines for students to keep the game safe and fair.
“I kind of just knew that I wanted to run it this year,” Campbell said. “I do really like organizing those types of things, [and] I want to be involved.”
To keep the game running smoothly, Campbell will have to balance her busy schedule, which includes school, the Emerging Health Program (EHP), and after school clubs — all while managing an entire hungry class of senior assassins eyeing the prize.
“There is a lot of effort that goes into it behind the scenes [including] putting together the posts,” Campbell said.
Campbell is ready to dedicate her time and make herself available to seniors to ensure everyone is following the rules.
“[Students] can contact me if there’s an issue, and as a third party, I’ll settle it,” Campbell said.
Although the “Hornets’ Nest” and “Senior Assassin” pages serve different purposes, they show the dedication and hard work that students put in beyond
what is visible on the feed. The Instagram pages are not just used to post content, but to show the leadership required to organize, communicate, and influence students’ school life and culture.
