By: Ruthie Saylor

Titan Hype is back at Tussey Mountain for the 2023-24 school year.  Juniors Laney Brumbaugh and Barret Brode brought a new club idea to Mrs. Mallow, asking if a group of students could become “like a student section at a college sporting event.” Mrs. Mallow accepted and made Titan Hype a goal. This school year, Mrs. Sichko took over Titan Hype, and they made their presence known at the Homecoming Pep Rally on Friday, October 13.

Mrs. Sichko says the whole goal of Titan Hype is to “get students more involved in cheering and [to get students more] excited.” If students saw people participating in the cheers at the pep rallies, they would want to participate as well. “Kids were just sitting there [and not cheering],” says Kaylin Witters. Titan Hype aimed to solve that problem, and Laney Brumbaugh believes that they did. 

Brumbaugh says, “ Whenever [cheerleaders] do a chant, the student [hype] section starts it usually … then everybody else does it.” Titan Hype sets an example for the rest of the student body when it comes to showing their school spirit. This solved the problem because younger students didn’t know all of the cheers. Students could use someone to lead them in their cheers, and Titan Hype does just that. 

Titan Hype seemed to really catch on as everyone participated more fully. At the pep rally on October 13th, students showed that they have different ways of showing their Titan spirit. 

Titan spirit is the sense of community and identity that students at Tussey Mountain share with each other. Eighth-grader Arianna Ritchey says, “I support [Titans] no matter what, and I always dress to the occasion.” Friday was Red & Black Day for Spirit Week at Tussey Mountain as students showed up in all kinds of Titan attire. Ritchey sported her own red and black outfit. 

When Eighth-grader Robyn Bracco saw the cheerleaders in the pyramid formation tossing Senior Elizabeth Park into the air at the pep rally on Friday, she showed her Titan spirit by cheering for them as loud as she could. 

Titan Hype also spreads to sporting events. Freshman Emily Ripple says that she shows her Titan spirit by “showing up to games.” 

Two students from the student body noticed a lack of school participation and decided to do something about it. Brumbaugh and Brode succeeded in creating a student-led pep team and now the student body cheers louder than ever bringing the Titan Spirit to life.