Black and gold, brave and bold, go fight win! 

This is the chant that represents the Warriors here at Memorial. Outsiders observing would assume that Memorial High School is filled with confidence regarding our ability to take down the competition and to support any mountain our fellow Warriors have to climb. In reality, the students here would say that the atmosphere is all around ineffective at creating any sort of palpable excitement circulating around football games or homecoming. When looking around at pep rallies, many students can be seen standing with their arms crossed and shoulders slumped in defiance of any enthusiasm to be displayed. In my opinion, more emphasis should be put on the excitement students should feel about pep rallies, football games, homecoming, prom, spirit days, and any other school events. 

It is no secret that in comparison to other schools in Frisco ISD, Memorial has been at the bottom of the list in terms of school spirit since we opened last year. Understandably, those who’ve moved from other schools mumble in the hallways about missing the school they originated from- such as juniors and seniors originally from Wakeland, Lonestar, and Heritage. This has acted as an impediment to our school becoming “spirited” because there is a constant comparison by upperclassmen of what they believe high school experience should be. Upperclassmen set the example for how we as a school portray our spirit. But why should this stop students from going to games, yelling at pep rallies, or dressing up for spirit days? No two schools are exactly the same, and referring back to your past school does nothing but create a negative atmosphere within the school that we now call our own.

One effective way students can show their school pride is by participating in spirit days planned by our very own student council. So far this year, we’ve had spirit days such as Western, Pajamas, Hawaiin, Neon, and Tie Dye- and soon to be our annual Pink Out in support of those fighting the battle against breast cancer. StuCo does a great job in encouraging students to dress up to school and participate in these spirit days with posters, emails, and the entirety of student council’s members dressing up. But in reality, all of this is pointless if the students themselves have no motivation to go out of their comfort zone to support their school. In a recent survey taken at Memorial, 35% of students said they feel a little uncomfortable wearing spirit wear to school.  I believe that even if it’s as simple as borrowing your dad’s hawaiin shirt or as over the top as wearing head to toe neon, anything can help encourage school spirit. 

In the same survey, the majority of students said that on a scale from one to ten Memorial’s school spirit only falls at a 4. It is my belief that because we’re only in high school once, now is the time to dress up and be unapologetic of your love for your school. As being a new school, we have the opportunity to create the foundation for generations to come on how they feel about the place where they attended high school.