Prefect Council announced the head Fanatics election results for the 2021-2022 school year in an email sent to the student body Sept. 5.

Ridley Berger Sacks ’22, Magnus Ferell ’22, Kate Hassett ’22, Julianna Ross ’22, Chronicle Digital Managing Editor Amelia Scharff ’22 and Chronicle Sports Editor Maxine Zuriff ’22 have been selected by students to serve as senior head Fanatics, while Rohan Mehta ’23, Thea Pine ’23, Olivia Rahhal ’23 and Henry Wendorf ’23 will be junior head Fanatics.

Ross said she looks forward to celebrating with her peers as they begin attending sports games and performances together for the first time in two years.

“I think that having Fanatics is definitely important right now because it encourages a sense of community, especially after having been separated from each other for so long,” Ross said. “Being separated made us realize how much we enjoy being together and how important it is to make the most out of our time. My goal is to emphasize our bond as a community.”

Although Head Fanatics are usually responsible for choosing the next year’s leaders, the selection process changed after COVID-19 restrictions prevented an active year of Fanatics. This year’s election was run by Prefect Council, which had to conduct a second round of polling due to a technical error. In the initial poll, students were able to submit multiple ballots, making it impossible for the council to count one set of votes per student.

According to Senior Prefect Joy Ho ’22, the council chose to expand the role that Fanatics play on campus in order to promote student attendance at a wider variety of events.

“The main job of the head Fanatics is to rile up the crowd and enliven audiences at big school events,” Ho said. “Traditionally, the Fanatics really only made appearances at sports games, but this year, we are looking forward to having the Fanatics’ spirit at all of our athletic and artistic events.”

Pine agreed that Fanatics activities will enrich students’ high school experiences and said the campaigning process built up excitement for a year of on-campus events.

“Although I did not campaign as much as my fellow candidates, I did have a lot of fun going around to different tables and talking to my peers about running,” Pine said. “I am most excited to help bring the hype to our school’s games and events. I feel like over the pandemic, a lot of our teams were not able to feel the hype since the number of visitors [was] limited per crowd, so I am super stoked to bring good energy for our sports teams this year.”

After a week of campaigning and waiting for results, Mehta said the opportunity to meet new students, along with his excitement for the upcoming year of Fanatics, made the experience more enjoyable.

“I think [campaigning] was a good way for me to see some unfamiliar faces on campus, especially the sophomores,” Mehta said. “I also cannot wait to get the crowd hyped and worked up. I am especially excited for the basketball games, as being in the gym allows for cheers to echo.”