“School spirit” are two words completely foreign to many students at Cal High. Participation in rallies, spirit days, and sports events seems to be at an all-time low.
Because of this, it’s crucial for Cal to start organizing events that students actually want to participate in and are inclusive for the entire student body.
Many current seniors have noticed a dip in school spirit compared to freshman year. Although some may argue that the pandemic and social distancing is a large factor in the lack of enthusiasm on campus, the truth is that since school has been back in session, the number and variety of school events have been lacking.
Rallies have been historically unenthusiastic events among the student body because of the lack of participation and potentially humiliating activities.
In 2020, leadership’s Valentine’s Day-themed rally had an activity where two students were selected to lick whipped cream off of opposite sides of a clear plastic sheet. The uncomfortable participation could have been avoided if students had prior knowledge of the activities.
Rallies need to be more transparent with what activities students could participating in and make activities that students will want to do without fear of humiliation. In addition to the lack of enthusiasm for school engagement, the strict rules administrators imposed at the beginning of the year may have suppressed school morale.
A tighter leash impacts the school atmosphere when students who are supposed to be leaders are constrained by harsh rules. Some rules, such as the parking lot being closed to students during breaks, may not affect underclassmen. But for juniors and seniors who have cars, this directly targets them.
Although the strict rules have been relaxed some, the harshness and abruptness of these rules disrupted what could have been a smooth transition into the school year with new staff. This dissonance between students and staff makes it hard for students to trust and respect administrators. How can the school expect its students to be spirited if trust doesn’t exist.
Morale at school is low, and this must be fixed by allowing better communication between students, leadership and administrators. Although Cal’s leadership and administrators have been working harder to gain more student feedback, there needs to be more involvement and communication between the three groups to introduce more diverse activities and explore transparency with Cal’s entire population.