On Thursday, March 7, the Class of 2024 Student Government Association (SGA) held a student vs staff basketball game in the Dibart Gym at Cherry Hill High School East. Charging students $3 and all other attendees $5, SGA made over $700 and raised around $85 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society through collected donations.
In the end, the staff team came out victorious, even against the young agility of the students, some of whom were members of the East basketball team.
Before the game began at 6 p.m., the court was divided in half, allowing the ten staff members to warm up on one side and the twenty students on the other. Around 215 people were in attendance, including faculty, students and family. Activities Director Mr. Davis served as the referee and student representatives Evan Orel (‘24) and Ross Koenig (‘24) were the game’s commentators. Hayden Laufgraben (‘24) coached the student team.
To accommodate the number of student players, the first half was designated for the freshman, sophomore and junior players, allowing the senior students to play the entire second half.
“It was a senior event so we wanted to make sure they played more. The seniors were the first group of people we advertised to so they had the most sign-ups,” said Class of 2024 SGA Vice-President Vedant Menon (‘24).
Throughout the game, the teams maintained a close score. The first quarter ended with a score of 7-5, with the staff team winning. The staff held their lead, finishing the first half with 17 points to 16. Having the seniors playing in the third quarter, the students caught up with 25 points to the staff’s 24. In the end, however, the staff won by only one point.
During halftime and between the third and fourth quarters, door prizes were given to audience members. After purchasing their entry ticket, attendees were able to enter into a drawing for a chance to win one of numerous door prizes. They also could choose to be among the audience members that could be chosen to throw the half-court shot during half-time. The winner of the half-court shot would be awarded a year of free bundtlets from Nothing Bundt Cakes. While no participant won the half-court shot, various prizes were given out such as a $50 Playa Bowl gift card and a Megu Sushi gift card. In addition, concessions were available to be purchased from SGA senior representatives throughout the game.
During the preceding week, the Class of 2024 Instagram account (ch2024east) promoted the event through teacher player spotlights. Each teacher was given a nickname and personalized post, such as “Mr. Baller Blum” and “Mr. Swish Satz”. In addition to media promotion, the 2024 SGA representatives were paired up to create posters for each of the teacher players to hang on their doors.
“The other officers and I are really thankful for all of the representatives’ help. The fundraiser was a great success and I think it really helped bring the student body together,” said Menon.
The student vs staff basketball game served as a memorable event for the Class of 2024. The staff team exceeded all expectations, proving their skills against the young students. The event will go on to inspire future SGA activities and the monetary results will be going towards the Senior Prom this May.