School spirit is an essential part in every students’ high school career, providing students a sense of loyalty and pride in their school. Teens across the nation participate in traditions, all unique to their own communities. The past 40 years goes to show that Rangeview High School hasn’t been known to shy away from this concept either.
Since the opening of the school students have captured what it means to be a Raider, and maintain a ‘commitment to excellence’. From “Jersey day” and “Opposite day” to “Twin day”, now known as “Two’s day”, we see the development of school spirit and homecoming week shift and adapt to the change in attitude towards school spirit and homecoming week.
School spirit at RHS was at its peak around the early to mid 2000s. With more students than ever participating in school events like homecoming, prom, and clubs, Rangeview was truly the place to be.
“From homecoming to all varsity games, the student body used to show up. We would be decked out in red and black and cheering on our team” claims Shauna Meyer, a former student and current staff member at RHS, “I honestly don’t remember us booing anyone, except maybe Gateway, who was our rival at the time.”
Another member of RHS’ current staff Kurt Siebenthal voiced that Rangeview’s homecoming assembly, back in the mid 2000s, had been more than exciting for the student body, “I’m not gonna lie, when I started working at Rangeview in 2007-2008, the Homecoming Assembly was off the hook. Out-of-control fun. A righteous confetti extravaganza. Students would make garbage bags of paper confetti to use during the assembly.”
Undoubtedly Rangeview’s essence in the 2000s was blazing warmth that spread through the student body like a wildfire.
It’s apparent there’s been a major shift throughout the years at RHS, from school spirit being the highlight of the year, to an accustomed norm lacking spark from the majority of the student body. It’s clear that upperclassmen, juniors and seniors, are more outward with their school pride than the underclassmen. Because of this, kids are less likely to feel excited about the community around them.
One article ‘How lack of school spirit affects students’ published by The Evanstonian, highlights that social media has a large part to play in students’ overall motivation for school activities and events. The article claims social media has an immense impact on the students of ETHS, that because the students already have constant contact with one another, there’s no reason for them to meet in person anymore. The authors of the article study the major effects of this based on the observations of ETHS, claiming that Homecoming is informal and more than half of the student body choose not to show up every year, and that a majority of the student body doesn’t take advantage of the events or activities the school puts on for them.
In recent years, since COVID-19, Rangeview has fallen victim to this widespread lack of spirit from the underclassmen, and even the upperclassmen, with teachers claiming that the change in school spirit can be destructive to the culture of the school, “I think the lack of spirit can be damaging to those who work very hard to bring it about… Having school spirit projects a feeling of “We are all in this together, win or lose, fun or not.”’ claims Shauna Meyer.
The idea that students aren’t as engaged in high school activities before isn’t a nuanced idea. In fact, many teachers and former alumni alike remember RHS’ spirit being completely different, “I would say that the most noticeable is that it is much less than in the past,” Meyer affirms.
Evidently, ETHS isn’t the only school to suffer from scarcity of school spirit. The Mounds View High School’s Student Newspaper, The Viewer, claims that since COVID, there’s been a threat of a chain reaction occurring in their school, “Without the guidance of this year’s senior presence, next year’s senior class may also be likely to detach from the high schools’ traditions, which can cause a ripple effect for years to come.Without any in-person spirit week for homecoming, the freshmen did not get the chance to see the seniors’ decked out outfits and feel inclined to follow suit.” The sense of false hope hangs in the air within Mounds View, with the hopes that next year’s seniors will revive the school of their long-awaited spirit. Clearly, COVID wasn’t the only epidemic that struck schools across the nation.
Rangeview has taken steps to once again incorporate school spirit throughout the student body in 2022, with the addition of Field Day. Rangeview’s staff organized a day-long event, excusing kids from classes, with team building activities for each team, assigned through different colored T-shirts, to blend upperclassmen and underclassmen together in order to boost the feeling of community between the grade levels and essentially unite the student body after the effects of COVID-19. Although Raider Realm was widely controversial within the school, among the students and teachers alike, the message and purpose of the day was clear: unity through diversity. Every team color was combined with a number of students from each grade, providing students with opportunities to meet new people and accomplish new things. The end to the day was nothing but perfect, with the club open house bringing forth the attention of over 35 clubs and activities hosted by the school.
Although many teachers, like Kurt Siebenthal, would like to see a change within RHS claiming, “Leadership students do a great job. But, I think clubs and students need to make it more competitive to dress up and get involved” as well as staff members, like Shauna Meyer voicing that students should be more involved, “I would LOVE to see students try it, or attempt it. You don’t have to be the guy in the tutu or the one that painted his chest. Just wear a red shirt on spirit days.” For the most part, Rangeview’s spirit remains intact, with new events being promoted every season not only by the leadership team but many other clubs, like ‘Interact’ as well.
Whilst the shift in Rangeview’s spirit has been noticeable over the years, RHS still hopes to maintain its long-lasting spirit and commitment of excellence for its students, through engaging school events and activities.
