This year, there has been a noticeable decline in school spirit, with fewer students wearing spirit clothing or even discarding their GEMS shirts altogether.

One of the few times you’ll see students wearing GEMS colors or spirit gear is during P.E. However, even then, it’s not as common as it should be. The fact that P.E. is one of the main times for students to show school spirit highlights the issue: students are only wearing spirit clothing because it’s a requirement. This reflects a broader lack of interest in showing school pride, which is concerning because it suggests that many students simply don’t care about their school.

This trend has become even more evident over the years, especially on designated spirit days. While some students participate on days like Halloween, the majority don’t bother to dress up or follow the theme. This lack of participation is troubling. Whether it’s due to laziness or apathy, it shows that many students are disengaged from school spirit activities.

Another contributing factor is that many students don’t own the school colors or spirit wear. While students receive a Panther shirt when they enter 6th grade, it seems that this isn’t enough to encourage regular participation in spirit-related events. This issue isn’t unique to our school; it’s a problem in many middle schools across the country.

Some may argue that school spirit isn’t a big deal, and while that perspective may be valid to an extent, it still signals a larger problem: students aren’t showing pride in their school. This apathy could have negative consequences for the leadership class, which spends time planning and organizing spirit weeks. If students don’t participate, it may lead the leadership team to feel unappreciated or discouraged, which could affect future events.

I conducted a small survey of six students, and all of them said they didn’t care about school spirit days. While this may seem like a small sample size, it still represents 100% of the students I asked. And while this may not reflect the opinion of the entire school, it highlights a troubling trend: even a small group of students—those who were asked directly—lack enthusiasm for school spirit activities.