School spirit is the easiest way that students can support their school. 

Over the past few years school spirit has been slowly fading. People give up on spirit days, skip out on football games, and for some reason have a general disinterest in school activities. 

Classes have gotten progressively less connected to one another and school pride is at a low. Having pride in where you go to school is the first step to building up school spirit.

Having school spirit can make school more fun and appealing to students. It can form relationships and bring people together who might not interact otherwise. Building up a community at AHS sets up a strong foundation for people to depend on and contribute to. 

In a survey done by Harris Poll in 2014, on the effects of school spirit on students, researchers found that 92% of principals surveyed stated that school spirit is directly tied to student achievement and social engagement. 

Clubs like Leadership and Atoms Hype can do their best when it comes to sparking spirit in students but it’s going to take effort to build a community like the ones that have previously existed at AHS. 

School spirit might sound corny but it’s a quintessential part of the high school experience and our school needs to step it up. Almost every other school has more enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the student body.

Bringing the student body together is a task for everyone, especially upperclassmen who have been involved the longest. It’s mainly the job of the senior class to pass these traditions down to juniors and underclassmen to carry on.

Whether it’s pep rallies, spirit week or games, it’s only fun if you make it fun. 

Not only does school spirit improve student life, but it also supports our sports teams. The hype squad is the group of seniors at every high school that stands at the front of the student section, dressed on theme, painted, and ready to cheer. They lead the cheers for the student section throughout the game and bring the most energy to the stands. 

The stronger the hype squad, the stronger the team.

To be frank, it’s a little embarrassing when the away team has a bigger student section than the home team.

Who’d enjoy a football win soon? If so, cheer louder at the next game, we need it.

In conclusion, school spirit might be out for now, but the student body needs to bring it back.