Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 62

Description:	United Through TraditionThe boys swimming team used hair dye and traditions of theMohican tribe to become closer as a team and ignite its spirit.The Mohicans were a tribe of Native Americans wholived in the Hudson valley area of upstate New York,and were the subjects of James Fenimore Coopersnovel The Last of the Mohicans. What was less wellknown was that there were Mohicans at Bloomington South too, and they were on the boys swimmingand diving team.The Mohicans were one of the swim teams moreobscure traditions. The Mohicans are basically thebig guys, said senior David Forrest. Referring tothe big guys as Mohicans was not a way to excludethem, it actually brought the team together, just likeany friends who joke and make fun of each other.Forrest added, Its not that youre bad, its just thatyoure huge.Junior Daniel Karas was considered the lastof the Mohicans. Explaining his status, he said, Itslike Im the enforcer of the swim team.While many South students might not have knownabout the Mohicans on the swim team, it was hardFar Right: Junior Jason Sprinklesits on the edge of the poolwatching his teammates. Bytradition, his hair is bleached.PHOTO BY MIRIAM KATZRight: Junior Daniel Karascomes to the end of the laneduring his race, photo byMIRIAM KATZto ignore the appearance of many of the male swimmers after the girls conference meet. Traditionally,the boys bleached their hair—some also opted touse different shades of hair dye—and then shavedit after the girls conference meet. Senior MichaelMarietta said, We do it for spirit and we do it asa tradition and we just like getting creative with ourhairstyles and dyes.However, because of the chlorine in the pool thedye job doesnt last very long. Of course the colorstend to fade, said Forrest, Youll go in with a deepnavy blue, swim, and then wind up with a light babyblue.Because of the effects of the dye, hair bleach, andthe chlorine on their hair, the entire team shavedtheir heads. However, before they shaved all of theirsoon-to-be-dead hair off, the swimmers liked to getcreative with different styles. The one thats mostcommon is the old man, where you shave the frontto make it look like male-pattern baldness, or the Fri-UU^iLiar Tuck where you leave a fringe around the head,Forrest said.Many of the patterns varied widely however. Mysophomore year some kid had a cross shaved into hishair, Marietta said. He added, There are also usually a lot of Mohawks and side-Mohawks.While the finished products sometimes had verystaggering visual effects, what many people did notsee was what it did for the teams spirit. A specialbond forms when you shave another man, saidKaras.The swim teams traditions, whether they involvedhot-pink-Mohawk hairdos or the lost Mohican tribe,brought the swimmers together. This sense of unitywas created in spite of, or more likely because of thesometimes ridiculous variety of hairstyles and colors.We kind of stand out as a team and it brings ustogether, said Marietta. —NIKOLAJ KNAPOWSKI7 7 Vf62 I SPORTS \| boysswimming and diving
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8084
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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