Each year, as fall rolls around, high schoolers are left with a seasonal feeling of dread. Already weeks into school, with course work being dumped on them by the tons, students come to realize that they still have nine more months of cranking out exhausting drudgery. 

Enter spirit week: a chance for everyone to have a little fun and highlight the most adored aspects of Wilson. Spirit week is meant to be a lively approach to bringing together members of our school. But every year, it falls regrettably short of this expectation.

While there are countless reasons to love Wilson, school spirit is an area where we’ve always seemed to miss the mark. Self-segregation severs our community and we lack the culture that brings together entire student bodies at sporting events. Spirit week is one of the few opportunities we have to unify an otherwise detached school environment. 

As cheesy as it sounds, spirit week provides an essential opportunity to develop the camaraderie that deserves a place in every high school experience. Powderpuff and the pep rally allow classmates to unite in ways they never would have before. Themed outfits and student exhibitions lighten up mundane daily activities. Even the sticky mosh of homecoming evokes a sense of togetherness that you can’t help but love.

Those sacred few days leading up to homecoming could hold an incredible significance if only they received the appreciation they deserve. So it’s about time for us to show some more respect toward the traditions of spirit week. 

In order to properly honor spirit week, teachers and administrators need to start letting students have fun. I understand the concern of safety, but if you’re not going to go all-out for spirit week then why go out at all? As cherished festivities become increasingly restricted, levels of student enthusiasm reach an overwhelming low.

Let powderpuff run without interruption. Stop holding back the cheerleaders in their sports bra-filled scuffles. Put seniors next to juniors at the pep rally so their jovial slander can actually reach the intended audiences. Spirit week’s tumultuous mess of activity—revered by students for decades—shouldn’t be curtailed by stodgy administration.

And while it’s on the staff to become more lighthearted, students need to let themselves have fun as well. It just so turns out that nobody thinks you’re cool for not taking part in spirit week. I don’t care if it’s childish or below your prestige—dressing up for spirit week is way more enjoyable than scoffing at tradition. Maybe next year, rethink your decisions to sit in silence during the pep rally and wear jeans on Monday. Being dry is simply not a good look.

Every day going to the same classes, seeing the same people, and following the same routine makes school a humdrum time suck that students too often dread. So when it’s time for spirit week to switch up the stale routine, we need to embrace it with open arms. Spirit week should be one of the most anticipated times of the school year, but it’s on us to make it that way. •