Color “War” sends the wrong message

Avital Isakharova

Gray Team sign that was vandalized.

If you’ve been paying attention, then you know that there’s about to be another war: QSI’s First Annual Color War. On May 24, classes will compete against each other in different events to see which class is the best. Sounds like a fine idea, but really, does it have to be a “war”?

I believe Color Wars is a very odd name for a competition played inside schools. Color War is a competition where classes or groups of kids get assigned a color and are supposed to play until they win. The idea is that the event brings everyone together as a whole and creates good sportsmanship amongst others. Then why call it a “war”?

War is defined as “a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation.” How does this equate to the competitions that we’ll be having on May 24?

It’s even more disturbing to use “war” in the name of the event because of the ongoing wars in the world today and being constantly bombarded with these sad thoughts in our heads. 

I believe the idea of conflict and war is not at all what should be happening in school events; there should not be any feelings of aggression or violence towards one another. 

Having students compete against each other is a great idea, but it needs to be renamed so that it reflects what’s actually happening. There are other choices, like Color Games or Color Olympics or Field Day and I find it quite ironic that this event isn’t called one of these instead of a war. Using the word “games” would fit this circumstance because it is defined as a form of play or sport that is played according to rules, skill or luck. During “Color Wars” students will play fun games such as a scavenger hunt and charades.

Color Olympics would also be a great name as olympics is defined by the International Olympic Committee as “building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind. And the Olympic spirit requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” These values – peace, understanding and friendship – are the ones we should want students to embrace, instead of those that come to mind when we hear the word “war.”

I am certain that these alternatives to the original name of Color Wars would have been a much better name for this school event, which should be a fun and exhilarating event but this name just makes it sound cruel and depressing.