Keira Manning

Seniors gather for a portrait in their class color.

Keira Manning: Happy New Year, Hailey! I know this is kind of old news, but after participating in our winter spirit week, it reminded me of homecoming week and “color wars.” How exactly did you feel color wars went this year?

Hailey Rogers: Happy New Year, Keira! As a freshman I felt in my first year involved in color wars there was definitely a lack of participation and overall school spirit. I don’t know about you, now that you’re a senior, but as a middle schooler I always felt so excited to get to high school to participate in this spirit day, and I definitely felt at a loss after seeing the lack of effort and dedication.

Keira: I agree. I definitely think that there was a serious lack of participation in color wars this year. I actually came here as a freshman, so I had no idea what color wars was my first year. It ended up being super fun and a really great experience for me, which is why I was so surprised about the lack of participation. It has been declining since I came to AMSA, but this year in particular was rough.

Hailey: I enjoyed color wars when I was in middle school, especially 8th grade. That first Friday was special because I walked into the upper school and saw the lobby completely covered in decorations. But when I walked in this year, I was a little surprised that there was little to no color. I’m wondering, though, Keira, since you’re a senior, were you surprised at the lack of people participating not only in the whole school but your grade in particular?

Keira: Even though the participation from my grade was significantly lower than previous years, I believe that it was the best out of all the grades. When you think about it, that’s actually pretty sad. I feel like a large contributor to our lack of participation was how disconnected everyone is from each other. Color wars used to be a way to unify grades, but I feel as if no one feels that connection or drive to participate anymore. So do you think that it could be considered uncool to participate in spirit week?

Hailey: I definitely think it’s fun for some people to participate in spirit week. I love participating in events such as color wars. But for some people they just like the fact that we aren’t required to be in uniform all week. I definitely agree that the seniors had the most participation, but there was still not as much among them. That was a bit surprising since this happened last year, too. Keira, why do you think there is less participation in your grade or all grades?

Keira: I agree with you about participating in spirit week. I enjoy dressing up for themes. But if I don’t particularly like a specific theme, I either won’t put as much effort into my outfit or just won’t dress up. I also like that we don’t have to wear a uniform during spirit week, and sometimes it’s nice to wear my own clothes without a theme. I think for spirit week in general, a lot of people haven’t been liking the themes recently so they don’t participate. Sometimes the themes are too specific or challenging so no one dresses up. Outfit laziness is another thing I’ve noticed, and it could be a reason for a lack of school spirit. Hailey, what are some things you have noticed about the lack of participation as a freshman participating in spirit week?

Hailey: I agree with the fact that the themes are difficult sometimes, or the fact that we’ve had the same themes multiple times. I’ve been at AMSA for four years now and I think there’s been Adam Sandler Day for three of the four years. Also, for March Madness Day or Ugly Sweater Day, people may not have an ugly sweater or a basketball jersey. Maybe if the themes were broader, more people would participate.  

Keira: I’ve also noticed a trend of repeating themes. I remember there were two years in a row when Pajama Day was the Monday of every week. Yes, wearing pajamas to school is fun every once in a while, but we already had that theme for the last spirit week so I would prefer a different one. I do like the idea of color wars, though, because it is easier to dress up in one color than a weirdly specific theme. However, a lot of people don’t seem to go “all out” anymore, which is kind of disappointing. Do you think there is a reason for that?

Hailey: I think the reason some people don’t go all out is because they may not have their class color. For example, my class color is orange, and I own about two orange things. So maybe if the color was like blue or maybe even yellow people would dress more. But the lack of people not even doing Pajama Day or even putting on a colored shirt is insane.

Keira: I think your point is valid. Some of the class colors are a little obscure, like orange and green, but I think that purple and red are pretty easy colors to wear. My class color is green, and before I came to AMSA I owned absolutely no green clothing. But here we are. Anyway, how do you feel about the new point system that was introduced at the fall pep rally? I feel like I haven’t heard anything about it recently, especially since we just had our winter spirit week. 

Hailey: I like the new point system and I’m surprised it wasn’t introduced before. I think the new point system gives a reason to participate in spirit week and way more competition. I definitely agree with you. I have heard nothing about it since the fall pep rally. But my question is how do they track the points? And why don’t we know who’s winning? I feel as if they may have no idea who is winning or maybe they just haven’t figured out the point system yet. So, Keira, do you know anything about the new point system and how it’s being tracked?

Keira: I have no idea. Something I have talked about with other seniors is how there was no communication about the point system. I actually talked to both of the emcees, and they said that they didn’t really know much about the point system until they had to talk about it. I feel like the lack of communication between the staff and the student body has caused a lot of confusion. 

Hailey: I totally agree with you, there has been no communication between the student body and staff. As someone who actually participated in the spirit days, it is frustrating. We have not been informed about getting any points from the both pep rallies and now I have no idea what’s going to happen at the spring one. 

Keira: I agree, we also have no idea who is in the lead for points right now, so we will not know who will “win” if there is a winner at all. To be honest, I hope next year everything will sort itself out and more people will participate in spirit week. After all, school spirit is a big part of building a connection within the community as well as creating a healthy and competitive culture here at AMSA. Color wars and spirit week in general are both fun traditions, so I hope the lack of participation does not end them.