by Brendan O’Donnell ’16
On November 12, senior and Eye writer Ricky Benninger was fired from the morning announcements for going off the script. He said three words: “It’s boots season!” which would be his last over the announcement system.
Ricky feels that the fact that he was fired was unjust.
“I simply wished the student body a happy boots season,” he said. “I was just excited about the snow being on the ground. I would say that’s a little unfair. A warning would be nice.”
After he said the words, Mr. Hennessey decided to take over the announcements for the day.
Benninger was fired without warning after the announcements were over, but he was not surprised.
“I saw it coming immediately after Mr. Hennessey came on the announcements,” he said.
Justified or not, the decision is permanent. Hennessey will now refer to students such as Senior Jack J. Hyland as well as himself to do the announcements.
Ricky is not the first person to be booted off the announcement team. Senior Camden Stacey was taken off the roster last year when he referred to himself as an “everyday neighborhood white kid.” Benninger’s case was not necessarily an anomaly, and being on the announcement team requires adherence to the script.
The announcements, which are read in the mornings and available online, follow a strict script, and are composed of school events, club announcements, and college visits, among other things. Therefore, measures are taken to ensure that the message given to students is exactly what the school wants to say.
Mr. Hennessey defended the pink slip.
“You have to be able to trust people that they are not going to ad lib, to make up things, if you put them in a position of trust such as announcing,” Hennessy said. “Mr. Benninger violated that trust, and therefore he is no longer with us.”
Rick said he thinks his mistake can be a lesson for all students.
“Choose wisely what you are going to say,” Ricky says. “You never know when or how it will impact you.”
