On September 6, the El Paso High School seniors celebrated Eve of the E on the field with a unique design that represented the graduating class of 2024. Eve of the E is an EPHS tradition where seniors make an image out of lights on the field, and celebrate the beginning of their last year. It’s part of the broader Homecoming celebrations that take place at the school.

Originally, the Eve of the E-goers would hike onto the nearby Franklin Mountains, and would light their design next to the Star on the Mountain. Recently, however, the traditions have changed.

“Back in the day, we used to have the letter on the mountain that we would actually light on fire,” said Savannah Aguilar, an EPHS senior. “But all the schools had to stop doing that because of the hazards, so that’s why we do the fake candles on the field.

The design this year placed a large ‘E’ in the middle of a 2 and a 4. This was then topped off with a triangle, and the entire design was underlined.

“The triangle on top and the line on the bottom are supposed to be the school, when you’re walking up the main entrance. The E is supposed to signify Eve of the E, the 2 and the 4 represent the graduating class, class of 2024,” said Savannah.

El Paso High School has a very unique way of choosing these designs, another part of their individual school heritage.

“What the process is like, as far as I’m aware, is it’s a, democratic, collaborative thing,” said Savannah, “Where they’ll throw in ideas and then we’ll be able to vote and the most popular one gets picked for that year.”

While there may be some help from the outside, the process places an emphasis on the seniors’ right to represent themselves through a democratic process.

“The design is up to the Class Council, which is run by Ms. De Alba, our class sponsor for the seniors,” says senior Paul Ereng.

The design itself isn’t the only memorable part, though. Seniors also get the option to decorate their own shirts. The shirts are created especially for Eve of the E, and base design has been the same for nearly a hundred years.

“To me these shirts are part of an established community among the seniors, because it’s something everyone has. (…)I think the shirts are more of a symbol rather than a shirt, because they have an importance in and of themselves for people to connect with each other,” said senior Iker Perez.

Eve of the E is important for  seniors because it is the start to their last year. It’s considered to be a memorable experience, and  can be emotional, since it’s one of the last major events seniors will  have with El Paso High School.

“It sort of clicked that this is my last year here, I  want to enjoy it with the people that I’m here with,” said Iker.

There were a variety of emotions passing through the senior student body after Eve of the E and the Homecoming festivities. 

“It made me feel sad, because it’s the end of an era,” said Savannah. “It was just us, and the tear tracks on our faces. We were taking blurry photos knowing it was one of the last things we’d do this year.”