Photo Courtesy of Co-Health and Sports Editor Sonia McSwain.
Whenever a spirit day or a rally comes around at San Luis Obispo High School, the lack of excitement is easy to see. Despite the Herculean efforts made by the Associated Student Body, only a handful of students participate in themed spirit days, or even show up to school wearing black and gold. The lack of overall spirit leaves many feeling unmotivated to celebrate SLOHS, and creates a campus culture that lacks tiger pride.
“I feel like the lack of school spirit has degraded the overall feeling and vibe of high school. When it’s a spirit day, it doesn’t feel like one, and it sucks that no one but the kids in ASB dress up. I don’t have very much school spirit because I don’t feel any motivation or drive to do so, but I would love to change that next year. Hopefully things get better,” said junior Amarah Gutierrez.
The lack of school spirit is partly due to the fact that many feel embarrassed showing support. Students are unwilling to deviate from the “too cool for school” campus culture because they feel as if their image is at risk.
“It’s pretty easy to see that we aren’t pumped up at rallies or other spirited related stuff because it feels embarrassing to cheer. You don’t want to be that one guy being loud when everyone is just sitting there not caring. It puts a person into an awkward position, and I’d rather not say anything,” said freshman Anders Verheyen.
Not having a positive or supportive atmosphere brings down the high school experience for many, as recycled spirit day themes, underwhelming rallies, and uninspired dance concepts further dissuade students from taking any action in supporting their school. It’s extremely hard to be excited about something that doesn’t exhilarate or encourage students to think outside the box.
“I’d say the lack of spirit has definitely diminished my interest in school events. I wish we had more spirit in our class so school events would seem more like fun and less like an obligation. The spirit days we have are super bland and overplayed too, so everything feels really cringey,” said senior Kalani Ruiz.
As more school wide events from the past return to the SLOHS calendar, such as SLOchella and Tiger Olympics, hopefully new and exciting spirit related occasions will enter the fray as well. Promoting the idea of having pride in one’s school can happen as motivation to participate in activities increases.
