The cinch on spirit

How do you feel about school spirit? Do you dress up for spirit days, cheer at the rallies, promote Mt. Vernon events on social media? Or do you prefer to keep your head down, focusing on academics and eventually getting out of here forever?

Now that spirit week has ended, it’s important for students to reflect on their personal feelings about school and how their current attitude will be viewed when they’re an adult. Many of us in the busy whirlwind of classes and schedules and extracurriculars forget the long-run.

Will we be adults, lamenting to our kids that we regret not going to the events, games, and rallies? Or will we be adults who reflect nostalgically on our school pride that helped make our high school career bearable? The choice is up to you.

Our school spirit is pretty evenly divided. For every cheering, dressed-up Marauder, there is another student who stays quiet and goes about their school day without any interest. And every class mirrors these same results.

Seniors are split between those who are anxious to get out of high school unscathed and those who want to get everything out of high school before they leave. Many seniors are involved in clubs, sports, and community service to cap off a high school career of school involvement. Even seniors who did not participate in their younger years are now making an effort to participate.

Kira Smiley, 12, said, “I never used to go to football games before this year and I always used to sneak out of pep rallies. I think this year the nostalgia is hitting me hard.”

Many other seniors feel the same way. But some have a very different experience and outlook.

Gavryn King, 12 said, “I’m just not into it [school involvement] anymore. I mean, what’s the point? I’m leaving and not looking back.”

Juniors also have mixed feelings about school spirit.

There are juniors like Noah Armour who have a very different story, “I’ve never been too involved, and I don’t really plan to. I see high school as such a short blip in my life.”

Of course, there are those underclassmen who are a group of energized football players yelling and egging on the seniors.

Carrie Bilyou, 10, said, “Even if I don’t feel a whole lot of school spirit now, I’m sure I will when I’m an upperclassmen. I feel like it comes across as weird if you’re lowerclassmen and trying too hard.”

But not all underclassmen feel that way.

Freshmen Bailey German said, “I actually have a lot of school spirit. I like to be involved and I like all the excitement that comes from being involved in high school.”

Whether young or old, the entire school body’s feelings on school spirit are often very divided. But there is understandable motives on both sides, and a school benefits from many different personalities and thought processes coming together under one roof.