This morning, almost all of Hockaday’s faculty and staff arrived at school in matching colors, red and black, for reasons that remain unknown.

It was like any other Thursday morning at 11600 Welch Rd.: morning practices took place as scheduled, Upper School students were making the trek from overflow parking to the library, the commons was filled with freshmen and the faint smell of coffee wafted through the halls.

However, students soon began to notice that something wasn’t quite right: Every classroom they entered, every corner they turned, they would see a faculty or staff member wearing the colors red and black—almost every single one of them in red and black.

The faculty attempted to convince students that their similar clothing colors were a mere coincidence. Senior Camila Trejo, however, immediately knew this was false.

“When I walked into school, I knew the teachers solely wearing black and red wasn’t a coincidence,” she said. “I knew that it had to be that the teachers were mimicking the Red Russian Army that arose after the October Revolution to fight against the Bolsheviks. It’s the only plausible theory I could think of!”

Students immediately began questioning the teachers, but they seemed reluctant to share any information. The Fourcast stopped English teacher Jennifer McEachern in the hallway and asked her to comment on her apparel. Unfortunately, little was discovered during this confrontation.

“I don’t have a comment. I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” said McEachern, before hurrying off in the opposite direction.

By 8:30 a.m., multiple rumors were floating around the halls as upper schoolers attempted to decipher the odd red-and-black phenomenon.

History teacher Lucio Benedetto, who often jokingly tells students that he is a member of the Illuminati, confirmed that the teachers’ choice of dress was linked to this secret society. 

“It’s an Illuminati thing,” he said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Research is still being done to confirm the validity of this claim.

By lunch time, these multiple rumors had turned into hundreds, many of which surrounded a link to communism or a cult.

What’s the real meaning behind the red and black colors?

After conducting one investigation after another, it was revealed that history teacher Kathryn Hodgkinson sent out an email to the school’s teachers requesting that they wear red and black. Hodgkinson had proposed this weeks in advance and sent out multiple reminders to Hockaday’s faculty to ensure the success of her plan.
“Teachers have fun too. We just did it to have fun. No other motivation—we just wanted to have a good time and just make y’all think,” said Hodgkinson. “You noticed a lot faster than we thought you would, so it’s been fun.”

Could this be the start of a new tradition at Hockaday? Read more about other school traditions.