The days leading up to Homecoming are filled with a flurry of activity. Girls are looking for that perfect dress, boys are looking for the courage to ask out a date, while teachers are looking for a way to keep their students focused on schoolwork. As a way to bring an extra level of enthusiasm to the week leading up to the game and dance, the leadership program organized themed days this past week, where students were encouraged to dress according to that theme.

As one walks through the halls, it is easy to notice that a majority of the student body does not participate in the assigned spirit days; however leadership has been working hard to encourage students to dress up during the week.

“This year, we’ve incorporated a lot of new ideas as a way to try an amp up the number of kids who do the spirit days,” junior and leadership student Meredith Spohn said. “We gave teachers these purple slips to hand out to the students who dressed up for that particular day. The grade that collects the most purple slips by the end of the week wins spirit points.”

Often times, people do not want to take part in the week’s activities because they are worried about embarrassing themselves. A great way to overcome this fear is to plan out outfits with friends or classmates, thus making it less awkward to dress up.

“My friends and I dressed up as the seven dwarfs from ‘Snow White,’” sophomore Jordan Hundley said. “We all wore oversized T-shirts with beanies and name tags. I think the excuse that dressing up is embarrassing doesn’t make sense because if everyone dressed up, then no one would be singled out.”  

Many students enjoy participating in the spirit days because it emphasizes school unity and is a fun way to wear unconventional outfits to class.

“Dressing up shows a lot of school spirit,” junior and homecoming court member Beka Luebe said. “I love seeing everyone wearing crazy outfits and getting advice on what I should wear.”

However, some students argue that spirit days bring an unnecessary level of stress to an already hectic time. Planning a costume can be time consuming and even a waste of money if students need to purchase an outfit.  

“I find a lot of the spirit days to be inconvenient,” junior Jack McGrath said. “During the week, I don’t have time to go buy things that I’ll only use one day during Spirit Week.”

Still, the leadership members have tried to make this year’s spirit days easier and more

inclusive. With simple themes such as Avoiding the Paparazzi, where people dress in comfortable clothing, or Blackout, where students wear all black, it is relatively convenient to participate in Spirit Week.

“Leadership tried to make the spirit days as laid back as possible, while still maintaining that sense of fun,” Spohn said. “The themes made it easy for people to dress up. We wanted it to be easy for people to participate in, but still different from just a normal day of school.”

Even though the opinions on spirit days differ, the general attitude toward Spirit Week is that it provides a fun time filled with engaging activities in order to get the student body ready for the homecoming dance.

“I think Spirit Week is a great tradition,” Luebe said. “It really gets the whole school excited for the homecoming dance and game. It’s something you can look forward to at the start of the school year.”