Walking through the halls, I see students dressed like Adam Sandler or wearing school colors to get everyone pumped for the afternoon pep rally. At the pep rally, the student body is so loud singing the fight song, that my Apple Watch notifies me of the noisy environment. The scene of hyped up students was impeccable.
Don’t get me wrong. We have spirit such as amazing involvement from some students, but our spirited moments are becoming few and far between. Most everyone knows Central is a big school and houses approximately 1,500 students. Our student sections should be loud and proud, and students should rock every spirit week with their spirited outfits. So is Central struggling with school spirit? Well, it’s not that simple.
Central has a great student body that paints posters around the school. We can be united as a community when we want to. Our Pep Club does a great job at organizing dress-up days and events to decorate the halls. Students are known to come to the “big” games like Homecoming or against rival schools like E-town. Those are the times when the student section is loud and proud.
Nonetheless, it can be disappointing to put all your hard work into a sport, and the student body doesn’t support you because it isn’t the “big” game. Not everyone can make it to every game, and that is understandable, but dressing up for spirit weeks and participating in the pep rallies are more ways to show you care.
“ The student section is often very small unless we are playing a couple of particular schools. I wish students wanted to support their peers regardless of who we are playing or what we are playing,” CHHS teacher and Pep Club sponsor Megan Williams said.
Along with the lack of spirit at games, the lack of spirit starts at school with spirit days.
“I have noticed a very small percentage of students participate in dress-up days (themes) regardless of what the theme is or when the information is put out,” Williams said.
The Central Times staff posts a graphic on social media every week called The Bruin Week At A Glance. It allows everyone to see the events happening that week and possibly gives them time to plan on going to a game or event. Hopefully, the graphic has helped students want to attend more events.
However, the majority of the student body goes to EC3, Co-op, John Hardin, etc during the day. The division on our campus could be a reason our sense of Bruin pride is lacking. The Bruin Week At A Glance keeps these students informed about events, nonetheless, it’s still difficult to be spirited when your grade is divided. Look at the Bruin Academy, for example. They have a lot of spirit, probably because they are together as “one” and not on a campus with other grade levels. According to the Spirit Week graph, it showed the freshman participation numbers were way higher.
In addition, a huge factor nowadays is the reliance on cell phones to have a good time. I’ve personally seen students at games or pep rallies sitting on their phones, not even paying attention. Why is this?
The publication Ludlow Cub reports that “some just like to take photos to show they are there having a fun time but just want to update their life.”
I think to increase school spirit, students need motivation to dress up and participate. Most students might feel silly or embarrassed if they dress up if no one else does. However, it’s fun, and students shouldn’t care what other people think. If one person does it, then others will follow suit.
“We have too many kids labeling ‘spirit’ as ‘weird and annoying.” Pep Club member Harper Warrell said. “For instance, if someone dressed up for Spirit Week, someone would make fun of them. I’ve seen a rapid increase in this behavior ever since my freshman year.”
Another thing that is lacking in spirit is our pep rallies. A lot of students are uninterested in them and sit down most of the time. I get that most people are tired at the end of the day and just want to go home, so possibly making the rally mid-day can help. One thing I’ve noticed is that our pay-to-enter events have the most spirit. For instance, sporting events, talent shows, kickball games, etc. This makes sense because people don’t want to waste their money. I don’t want to pay to go to a pep rally, but if you don’t want to go, we have an area set up in the cafeteria.
Ultimately, no one can change how much school spirit we have but the students. I know Central Hardin faculty has spirit, and they’ve proven it time and time again. I know with their examples it will have a positive impact on the student body. Students sometimes get wrapped up in the studying, the applications, and the stressors of high school. Without realizing once you walk across that stage, you’re no longer a kid. Remember, you only live once and your childhood is short, so be a kid while you still can and have fun.
