DECLINING school spirit concerns staff and students

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BOBCAT PRIDE:
Athletic director Allison Edens poses for a photo with the Bobcat mascot at the Club Carnival during Spirit Week. Staff members, including Edens, have contributed to the efforts being put in to boost school spirit. Photo by Erica Zuber

By: Erica Zuber

Fifteen years ago, cheers roared through the bleachers at football games, spirit weeks had widespread participation and Bobcat pride was carried throughout nearly every student on campus. When comparing the graduating class of 2012 to the current senior class of 2024, the level of school spirit has diminished significantly. Over the years, students and staff have questioned what could have caused this switch in attitude.

Due to the low amount of school spirit on campus, events like pep rallies and football games have not performed as successfully as they did in prior years. Activities like club carnivals and dress-up days have been created to help boost school spirit even more, but even after these efforts, over 55% of students in a survey expressed that they felt there was not a strong sense of school spirit on campus. This could possibly be due to an overall long-lasting decline over the last few years.

“There was a point where we just kind of lost our spirit,” said Student Government Association (SGA) sponsor Donna Yard. “It was a slow decline, and then it just disappeared. Going back into the years, that was maybe 2016. Honestly, it was a group of students who graduated, and they did not transfer the spirit. They just kind of left with it.”

Many new students arrive on campus expecting others to participate in school spirit events, only to find a lack of enthusiasm towards participating. Some students, primarily upperclassmen, have expressed that they simply do not find the importance in putting in the effort to participate in events. The priorities of students have shifted, and with this it has brought a lack of school spirit.

“Once those students become leaders, do they really know what things are supposed to look like? I think that plays a role,” said athletic director and alumni of West Broward’s first graduating class Allison Edens. “The freshmen and sophomore class, when they come in, it’s like okay, let’s really sink our teeth into them and get them to know what school spirit looks like. But how do you do that when upperclassmen also don’t know what that’s supposed to look like?”

Bringing back previous Bobcat traditions to campus could be one of the key pieces to bringing back school spirit to the entire student body. Edens has presented ideas to the administration including re-branding and bringing back events like powderpuff games, teacher-vs.-student dodgeball matches and lip-sync battles. These events could assist with club and class fundraising, while further boosting student morale.

“Everyone is kind of nervous about [bringing these events back] just in the world that we live in now,” said Edens. “But if we do it respectfully, and set boundaries and set expectations and say, ‘This is what we are going to do, if you go beyond that, then you are in trouble, and we are never going to do it again,’ and then leave it up to the kids, then it is really in your hands if we move forward productively or not.”

In light of these concerns, clubs like the Athletic Association and SGA have committed to bringing Bobcat pride back on campus. Another pep rally is being planned for this year, SGA has offered benefits to clubs who attend school events, and previous Bobcat traditions are in talks to return to campus soon. These endeavors could change the outcome of how school spirit is passed down to current and future graduates of West Broward.

“These things might not be exactly what you want to do in that moment, or you might feel like it is a waste of time. The silly things, the kind of stupid things that we all do together, the fact that we are all doing it together brings us more together and connected and it makes things more fun. You have to engage in those things that might feel kiddish or might feel kind of silly, but it is still fun,” junior and SGA president Jewel Jones said.