Spirit weeks need more active participation

Sadly, the people who do dress up for spirit weeks end up looking out of place.

Not brushing your hair in the morning for Crazy Mane Monday and wearing a red jacket for Red Ribbon Week is hardly an attempt at school spirit.

On Monday of the first spirit week of this year, I looked around at my AP Calculus BC classmates and realized that nobody was sporting the “Red Out” theme, except for students like me who accidentally wore a bit of red simply because it is a nice color.

As someone who only likes to observe spirit days and never gathers up the courage to participate, I’m always secretly excited to see the rest of the school decked out in colorful, fun attire that shows off their personality — and of course, school spirit. However, because most of the student body does not participate in spirit weeks, Spirit Commission and the administration’s efforts go to waste. The week loses its spark.

Admittedly, our school spirit has never been the best, proven by the lack of students who willingly attend rallies and regular football games. This year, our first spirit week stretched for more than a full week from Oct. 23 through Oct. 31 with a Halloween theme, and unfortunately, hardly anyone participated. Even though a healthy majority of the school dressed in all sorts of costumes ranging from fictional characters to cozy dinosaur onesies on Halloween, for the entire week prior, our campus was dotted with only a few groups of students who followed the themes of other festive days.

To begin with, Monday’s “Red Out” theme encouraged students to wear red to support drug prevention and mental well-being, in honor of Red Ribbon Week. Until a classmate brought it up, I had no idea that the spirit week had begun and hadn’t realized that their red hoodie (and the stripe of red on my sock!) was supposed to show school spirit.

Although “Team Tuesday” was a slightly generic spirit theme, much of the student body avidly enjoys sports and has favorite teams — whether it be Fantasy Football or their own school team. However, when I walked around the halls looking for people who had jerseys on, the only sportswear I saw were typical yoga leggings and basketball shorts.

You’d think more people would be enthusiastic about sports, but unfortunately, most people didn’t put in the effort to go all out. Similarly, “Crazy Mane Monday” felt like people just gave up and saved their dyed hair and colorful wigs for Halloween.

Perhaps the trickiest spirit day was “Tactical Thursday,” which encouraged students to dress in camo gear as if they were to go hunting. I recall seeing close to zero people who wore camouflage material, and I honestly thought spirit week had ended.

Part of the problem may have been the unfortunate irony of the theme. Considering that this spirit day took place on Oct. 26, the day after a tragic mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people and injured 13 others, students may have been hesitant to wear attire that connects to violence. Honestly, I’m just glad nobody brought a real weapon or a replica of one to school.

Another reason for students’ overall lack of participation may be because students simply aren’t aware of when spirit weeks occur. With so many activities and academics to juggle, students find it difficult to remember to wear school spirit attire. However, with the amount of time students spend scrolling through social media or walking around campus, Spirit Commission’s creative videos and posters are hard to miss. It’s really on us to remember the themes we want to participate in and remind our friends.

Many also complain that they don’t like the spirit day themes that are chosen and are adamant for other options such as “Dress Up As Your Type,” a spirit day idea that was initially considered but rejected by the administration. Although I agree some spirit day ideas are bland or difficult to relate to, it’s not always the Spirit Commission’s fault.

“We get a lot of backlash because either people don’t like our spirit day ideas [that become official],” said junior Lucie LeToquin, a member of the Spirit Commission. “We could do something different, but we’re trying our best to ask the whole school what they want to do. Then, when we take that advice, people still get mad at us.”

There is one obvious solution to fix our sagging school spirit, which starts with each of us mustering up some minimal effort. Instead of showing up in your usual sweatpants for Pajama Day, you could coordinate with your friends and wear matching plaid pajama bottoms to take pictures together. Especially in these stressful weeks leading up to finals, bringing a touch of laughter and community into our lives won’t hurt.

At the end of the day, school spirit doesn’t flourish because of amazing themes, but rather because students actively participate and make it fun. At this rate, our Falcon spirit will only decrease further if we don’t remember or want to participate. Of course, this is a wake-up call for me (and you!) to start dressing up in crazy colors for future spirit weeks.