So, being a Joppatowner (Joppatownian?) I was thrown off from the start. Our class (of '96) fit in well with the other classes. We had the same world view. But then, something horrible happened. Our class (and maybe the current seniors) seemed to be the last of a dying group. The group that "loved to hate JC".

All of the classes above us had belonged to this group, and we did too. The declining enrollment, the lousy football team, the run-down facilities, the lack of spirit. We were proud of it. We loved dull brown uniforms and our mediocre cheer-leaders and our never-win sports, and our dances with gag themes, songs, and courts. We saw JC as the oppressive enemy that was fun to hate. We were a dying breed.

With the end of brown skirts, comes the increased enrollment, cheerful, energetic underclassmen. Who cheer at pep rallies and win football games and have homerooms with unheard of letters like 'i' and 'j' and 'k'. 200 in 2000 and catchy slogans, well funded modern computer labs. It was the end. Together, we alumni must carry on the forgotten tradition of self-disliking. We must do it ourselves, though, lest others like the Aegis steal this tradition from us. So this will remain our goal, until time clouds our memories.

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