Let’s face it, the current junior class is lacking in school spirit.
At assemblies, we can barely mumble our way through a chant, and it’s evident to the rest of the school. There are a select few who wholeheartedly support their class, while there are others who won’t even raise their voice a decibel to show some pride in their grade.
“I feel like people are really shy and aren’t comfortable with showing off spirit,” junior Hayley Cape said. “Or they think spirit is overrated.”
The lack of spirit baffling to me. High school is supposed to be the best years of one’s life, so why can’t we muster even a small sense of pride for the Class of 2014? There’s no one reason for the juniors lack of school spirit but many contributing factors.
While class competitions are meant to be lighthearted fun between grades, juniors don’t rise to the occasion to let their voices be heard. From the perspective of a student, this is how a typical assembly goes. As the student body begins to sing the Alma Mater, ones eyes are drawn to the junior class. This is not because they are louder or more spirited than the other classes, but because they are acting like they don’t even want to be at the school.
As they complete the junior chant for the class spirit contest, something very strange becomes noticeable. Half of the junior class is cheering out of excitement and pride, while the other half halfheartedly mumbles along, acting like they’re being forced to show pride in their class.
“I feel like we have spirit, but not enough,” Cape said. “A lot of people are too shy to show it off.”
There is a very noticeable rift in the junior class. While its expected for there to be cliques, it makes no sense why we can’t collectively cheer for our class as a whole. I’m not saying we all have to hold hands, singing Kumbaya, but we can at least come together to cheer for our grade.
This problem isn’t new, either. Our class had this same problem last year as sophomores, but it seems to be getting worse every year.
One simply needs to look to the other classes for examples of class pride. The current seniors are a paragon of class pride, showing up to nearly every sporting event and blowing out everyone in the class spirit competition.
“I think the reason we have so much spirit is because our class is so close,” senior Betsy Upton said. “Everyone is friends with everyone and we all want to win the competitions.”
We’re going to be seniors next year, leaders of the school. Do we really want our class’ legacy to be that of disinterested mumbling and boredom? I personally would like the see the junior class showing every other school why every day is a great day to be a Timberwolf.
We will miss these times as we get older. High school is the best years of one’s life, so why would we not end our last year of high school with a bang?
The class of 2014 is the first class to attend BVSW all four years and it’s about time we started realizing it. Although it may be nearing the end of the school year, we still have one more year to lead t
he student body.
While we may complain about high school now, we will miss it when its over. The best the junior class can do is celebrate the time we have left, and make sure we leave our pawprint on Southwest.
What can be done to improve the spirit of the junior class?
