As homecoming season approaches, the subject of school spirit always arises. Every day of homecoming week there is a different theme for students to dress up. Many times, competitions are held between classes to see who is best dressed for the theme, and events like this help students embrace the culture of homecoming week.
Oxford High School is no different, giving students a theme to dress up as every Friday before football games. Oxford is one of the highest ranked public schools in Mississippi, so it is reasonable to think that OHS school spirit should stack up with the best schools in the state. However, every year it seems as if OHS declines in school spirit. OHS has seen a steady decrease in not only spirit week participation, but attendance in sporting events.
It is important to preface that Oxford is still superior in spirit compared to other Mississippi high schools. For multiple years in a row OHS has ranked in the top five best student sections in the state of Mississippi according to The Student
Section Report, but the “O-Zone” went down three places since last year’s rankings.
Even if Oxford’s participation in sports events is larger compared to the rest of the state, there has been a decline in attendance throughout the years. This gradual decrease in spirit and student attendance at sport events is due to two reasons.
First, students are too afraid of being judged. Now more than ever, the students of OHS opt out of dressing up for spirit days. This lack of commitment to spirit days is because of concern that not enough students will dress up and that students will look out of place. Nobody wants to be the only person in their classroom with a costume on, and school spirit could only continue to decline. OHS social media does a great job of spreading the word about spirit days. But, no matter how many people are aware of these days during homecoming week, students will still hesitate to dress up. Other schools in Mississippi do not seem to have the same issues with spirit days as OHS, and that is because other schools have a more united student body.
Second, as a student body OHS seems to be getting more separated as years go by. More students are scared and hesitant to make connections within the school, and spirit declines. Historically, the seniors at OHS by far have show the most participation when it comes to sporting events and spirit days. Seniors often become more connected during their last year of high school, and that unity contributes to more seniors opting to show school spirit.
For many students, not attending Oxford games is a matter of not having people to attend these games with. Students do not wish to be in an unfamiliar place, seeing people they do not know. But, if the OHS student body had a stronger sense of togetherness, these worries would disappear for many people.
Increasing the spirit at OHS does not require any major changes to the high school itself. It is a matter of growing the already valuable aspects of the school. There are many clubs within OHS that do a great job bringing students together. Informing incoming freshmen about these extracurriculars earlier would jumpstart their connections to other students and make them more likely to participate in school activities. The OHS student section also has their own social media account that makes posts before Oxford sporting events. This account usually posts only football and basketball games, but promoting other sports would be beneficial for turnout, since most OHS students follow this account. Spreading the word about ways students can get involved in student-led organizations and various sporting events can lead to friendships and an increased sense of community.
OHS has many resources that other Mississippi schools do not have. With the proper utilization of these resources, the student body will grow closer. Students will have the courage to dress up for fun spirit days and more confidence to participate in more school-related events. The true meaning of school spirit has become forgotten. School spirit is about creating the best community possible for students. If OHS can successfully create a closely connected student body, more school spirit will naturally follow.
