School spirit. It may be hard to define but you can certainly feel it, hear it and see it–but unfortunately, not enough at Gunn. Many students have lost their school pride and spirit without realizing that they are missing out on a major factor of high school life.

School spirit is essential to unify the school and give students an opportunity to just be silly and enjoy being part of Gunn. Sure, academics are important, but without sports games, dress-ups and performances, Gunn would be two-dimensional. When a school's bleachers are filled with students decked out in school colors, all rooting for their team, a strong sense of pride, loyalty and belonging is established. With more spirit around campus, Gunn can become a much more positive learning environment. When students and teachers are happy and feel as if they belong to a greater group outside of the classroom, everyone works more effectively and bonds of trust are formed within that group. Thus, if spirit became a more prevalent part of students' lives, the academic atmosphere would also improve overall.

As Human Relations Commissioner, I am one of the Student Executive Council members who organize monthly black and red days. I'm sad to see that many just question the days and shrug them off.

I noticed this lack of spirit at Homecoming as well. Some students complained about the themes or decided to "play it cool," and not dress up at all. Honestly, it is not that cool when the rest of your grade is dressed as Westerners and you and some others are not. If you do not like a theme or dress-up day, find a way to define it differently so you would be happy with it or at least dress up a little bit. With some creative thinking, you could still manage to contribute to the school's mood without feeling uncomfortable.

High school is really the best time for school spirit, yet students are not taking full advantage of these four years. In middle school, we were not as competitive. The dress-up days were unsuccessful and we did not even have Homecoming. In college, there are so many people that it is often hard to feel as close to all of your peers as in high school. High school is the perfect opportunity to participate in school events and have tons of fun with spirit days.

In addition to dressing up with the school or your grade on assigned days, there are many other ways you can get more involved at Gunn and have more school pride. Showing up at basketball games is a start, but going to watch other sports such as soccer, wrestling and tennis will further allow you to support your fellow Titans. Another way to show more pride is to watch theatre and choir performances as much as you can. Get your friends to go and hang out for a few hours as you watch some really talented students put forth their hard work. You can also join a club and get to know more people who share your interests. Whether it is through The Oracle, sports, the arts or a club, getting involved in any Gunn activity is a great way to build up school pride and form bonds with new friends. So, next time, leave the "Too cool for school (spirit) club," and show a little more Gunn pride.