This year we raised $87,787.44, a feat that has never been accomplished before. Not only did we break all the monetary records that Bingham High has ever held but we did it in three quarters of the time. The students of Bingham High were resilient and willing to take on this challenge with full force.

All the TrueBlue activities were planned by the Student Government and later approved by the Administration. We were well within the jurisdiction of the administration and we followed all the guidelines set forth by our school as well as the District.

Regardless of the many successes of TrueBlue, there have been many criticisms on how the All Day Assembly was run. Many generalizations were made concerning the feelings of the student body. One of the biggest criticisms we have received about TrueBlue was that it was “a sexualized form of charity.”

We have taken it upon ourselves to talk to an eclectic collection of students to see how they felt about TrueBlue, and in particular, the All Day Assembly. In the December issue of The Prospector, TrueBlue was put under a biased microscope that acknowledged some of the “so called inappropriate” activities. As concerned students and Student Body Officers we wanted to find out how the student body felt about the events including the most controversial, The Santa Babies.

Students were asked if they found the activities to be inappropriate or uncomfortable to view. Nathan Martinson, senior, states, “No none of them were inappropriate. They were all designed to get everyone to participate… so that you could raise the interest of other people not just one group of students.”

Another argument that was brought up was that “students had no choice but to pay.” As stated by Dane Gollero, junior, “No I didn’t feel forced to pay, I wanted to be there.” Another student, Garrick Poulson, said his parents gave him money to spend at the All Day Assembly.

AnnaMarie Taggart, senior, says “I felt like you either wanted to or you didn’t and I wasn’t pressured at all.”

No one was forced to be in the assembly. There were many students in the hallways as well as in the sides of the gym. Of the students we talked to, we had a majority claim that they wanted to be in the assembly and they want the tradition to be continued. We asked over 30 students if they felt forced to pay in the assembly, and not one of the students we interviewed said that they felt pressured.

Of the activities planned and played, the favorite was Mario Cart, also known by many of the students as “the food fight.” Our focus was not on the activities being carried out, but rather on the money being raised for others.

Instead of focusing in on the miniscule details that could have been misinterpreted, we feel that everyone should remember what Bingham students have done for the community. We all did something amazing together and that should be recognized.