Student Outlook -- Ananth Varma

“Oh, great; another pep assembly. Well, at least we get out of class.”

Does this remark sound familiar? Has someone ever said something similar

to you? Odds are that most high school students these days would honestly

have to answer yes. In actuality, it turns out that this is an attitude

that has become prevalent all throughout our community in recent years.

It is a common fact now that the amount of school spirit in most kids is

slowly declining.

There is a myriad examples as to how our community appears to have

lost its sense of school spirit. For one thing, no one seems to care

about pep assemblies anymore. Rather than getting excited and cheering on

their school, most students go because they have to, and then they don’t

want to be a part of it or be supportive.

Of course, this behavior is not only limited to pep assemblies. There

are also far fewer students who attend school functions, such as dances,

football games and activities like that. Another clear example of a

decline in school spirit is that numerous athletes seem to have lost the

enthusiasm for their sports. Many students do still play sports, but they

just don’t seem to want to put their heart and soul into the game

anymore, as many athletes used to in past years. This obviously also

shows a declination in school spirit because their actions partly reflect

that they do not really care whether their school looks good or bad.

How could something like this happen in a community that once seemed

so full of school spirit and pride?

The first obvious answer is that people might have gotten tired of

showing pride in their schools after so many years. Most students have

been doing so since they were in kindergarten. After nearly 10 years, by

the time they get into high school, it might be reasonable to think that

students would get over doing those sorts of things.

Secondly, students these days have been known to pile on loads of more

activities and work than students have done in previous years. Because of

this, many students have surely had to cut down enormously on the “peppy”

events and activities associated with school.

Lastly, it might just simply be a phase that our community is going

through. In another few years, things might be back to the way that they

once were.

There has certainly been a decline in the level of school spirit

students have. There are many clear examples of this in our society, and

there are also several reasons as to why this might be occurring. Yet, in

the end, this might just be something temporary and, in a few years,

things might be back to normal again.

* ANANTH VARMA is a junior at Estancia High School, where he is the

editor of El Aguila’s sports page. His columns will appear on an

occasional basis in the Community Forum section.