LAST YEAR, the Lancer Action Team brought back a previous Granger tradition called the True Lancer. This year’s Lancer Action Team wanted to carry on the tradition and find new ways to make it even better and more fun than it was before.

Granger students were given a list of tasks to complete, each task assigned a different point value. Lancers were asked to do many different tasks and participate in a wide range of different activities. After completing each task, students vying to become a True Lancer were required to get a signature from certain advisors or student leaders as proof that they completed the task.

Becoming a True Lancer is no easy feat, but it is not awfully difficult for Lancers who are already sufficiently involved in school activities. Lancer Action Team members wanted the challenge to take place during homecoming week so that it would encourage more Lancers to participate in homecoming related activities.

Students could earn points by dressing up for spirit days, going to the carnival, going to the football game, and going to the dance. The challenge also went on the week following homecoming, challenging students to donate blood or attend the drama club social.

Last year, a t-shirt was given to all Lancers who completed the challenge by earning a certain amount of points. This year, LAT wanted to offer more of an incentive and also give out different prizes depending on the amount of points earned.

If Lancers earned a minimum of six hundred points, they were awarded four G-Cards. When they reached one-thousand two hundred, they earned a pin along with their G-Cards. Then, when they earned two-thousand five-hundred points, they were officially a “True Lancer” and earned a t-shirt, a pin, and four G-Cards. This way, students were still able to earn prizes for participating, even if they did not earn the title.

This year, a lot of Lancers picked up a True Lancer card at lunch or in the main office, but only forty-eight students became True Lancers. A large portion of those who participated are either involved in Lancer Action Team or student government.

Though the amount of students who participated this year was greater than last year, LAT still did not reach their goal of getting more students involved who are not usually involved in school activities.

Students who did not earn enough points to become a True Lancer or just did not participate still have a chance. Lancer Action Team will be sponsoring the True Lancer challenge again in the winter and will introduce new elements to it to make it even more fun than it has been before.

For the next True Lancer challenge, students may be asked to participate in winter spirit week activities or attend winter sporting events such as basketball, wrestling, and swim. Students should take advantage of this opportunity, though, because even though it will be a second chance, it will be the last chance of the school year. Lancer Action Team members strongly encourage all students to participate in the winter challenge.