By Billie Allee
School spirit is very important in schools, it brings people together and creates a fun environment for all students. At LREI students and faculty have strong opinions about whether LREI as a community has spirit.
When asked, does LREI have school spirit? There were very different answers some flat out said “no”, some said “yes” and others said, “yes, but I think that there is always room for improvement.” Throughout conversations with students, a topic that consistently arises has been student engagement. Every Monday and Friday student government goes up in front of the whole school and most of the time they just create short, fun, and engaging activities. They make announcements and try to get students to come to home games or performances. But, they have noticed more attendance for some events, but not as much for others.
Suko Bey, an 11th grader in Student Government, was interviewed about student government’s role in LREI school spirit, she said, “Student government thinks there is a lack of school spirit and one of our main struggles is getting students involved. Student government makes sure everyone is aware of the school games, lets students leave early to see the games, and provides snacks, and posters.”
Bey is on the girls’ Varsity Volleyball team and says that she feels like LREI doesn’t have a lot of school spirit and that most people at the games are parents. She added that “a lot more people showed up when [she] was younger” since she is an LREI lifer. Bey elaborated by saying her whole grade, in middle school, would go to the intramural basketball games and the 7th and 8th-grade basketball games.
In addition, Layla Grant-Simmonds, LREI lifer, 12th grader, and student government member, reflected on the difference in LREI spirit before and after COVID-19. Grant-Simmonds shares, “Even as a lower and middle schooler, I went to all of the school plays, art, shows, and other performances. I remember times when high schoolers came to the lower/middle school to visit the younger students.” This is a great idea to create more connectivity within our high school and the lower/middle school. It shows spirit and support to LREI as a whole, and not just within the high school.
LREI High School Drama Teacher and High School Play Director, Joan Jubett, explains her view on engagement before and after COVID-19. She says, “Just like performing arts, the level of spirit waned during COVID, and therefore it takes time to build it back up. Students aren’t used to being in a room together and socializing after 2+ years of being disconnected.” Jubett is saying it is unrealistic for students to just jump right back into crazy, spirited fun, it is going to take time. But this is no excuse, student leadership and clubs within our school need to and have been working hard to be vocal about upcoming games and performances and make them as fun as possible.
Carrie Murphy, a 12th grader who participates in the fall play, winter musicals, spring festival, and coffee house performances, was interviewed about what she thought about student engagement. Murphy said, “I think a lot of people go… and a lot of people consistently go to the shows.”
Murphy elaborates by saying, “A lot of people think we have no school spirit, I feel like it is more complicated, there is a good, strong population of students who legitimately really love being here.” Additionally, Murphy goes on to say that she feels like a reason students might not want to go to games is that the gym isn’t super close to the school building, as it is a couple of blocks away, and the same thing with Pier 40. This is unchangeable, but it might be another cause why some students choose not to go.
But on the other hand, Milo Kramnick, an 11th grader and avid spectator at sports games, shared his point of view as a spectator. He was asked if a lot or a small amount of people went to games and he said, “Half and half, sometimes it will be just us, and other times it will be a full house. A majority of the time, when a lot of people are at the games, it’s because the game is happening right after school, but the games that start later there aren’t as many people showing up.”
Crosby Gersh, an 11th grader and player on the Boy’s Varsity Soccer team, agreed with Kramnick about the inconsistency of students at LREI games and performances. Gersh called it “a wave” because the number of people would rise and fall depending on the game or show.
When Kramnick was asked about what he thought were some solutions to create a more consistent crowd he said, “Making games more fun to watch and be a part of like having halftime shows, fun activities, more snacks for students and faculty, surprises during homecoming week, and red outs or themed games that all students and faculty could partake in.” Kramnick half-jokingly said, “We should take a page out of the suburban high school’s book.” LREI is different than your storybook suburban high school, but some of the ideas could boost student engagement.
After interviewing a lot of people, one thing that most students said was the reason that they went to games was because their friends were on the teams. Students want to support their friends and see them when they play sports. This ties into something that an LREI student said, they explained that “I don’t think LREI has school spirit because we as a community aren’t as close as some other schools”. As said before, “there is always room for improvement”, but this has to be a collective initiative. Another student elaborated on the “cliques” within our school and how students within friend groups come just to support their friends, “but not many people come to the game simply because they feel prideful of being an LREI student.”
Kara Luce, an LREI Science Teacher and devoted fan of sports games and performing arts showcases, explained how she felt about school spirit, “I appreciate that there were more home soccer games this year, but I still couldn’t go to most due to them being scheduled during faculty meetings…I appreciate the work that the Student Government did this year to implement a “homecoming week” to get students excited about attending games, and I think it worked. I saw larger crowds at the games I was able to attend. Maybe incorporating more “theme” events coinciding with home games.”
Luce also explained what she remembered about past attendance at events, “Honestly, I think there might be slightly more attendance at athletic events now than before Covid, thanks to the work of the Student Government advertising games and implementing Homecoming. I think there is slightly less attendance at concerts and Coffeehouse than before Covid.”
Another positive thing that students talked about was Coffeehouse, “I think Coffeehouse is starting to make a comeback, but there’s still a way to go to bring it back to pre-Covid levels. I hope it happens because Coffeehouse is one of my favorite things about LREI.”
All in all, LREI’s students and faculty have quite divided opinions on the topic of school spirit. Some students think strongly that LREI’s community needs to come together and more consistently show up to games and arts performances, but others think that we are on an incline with student engagement. A similarity across the board when interviewing students was more themed games and days. Possibly snacks and activities for students to do while they watch the game, half-time shows, or maybe even commentary by other students.