By Kelly Mrofcza
T’was the night before spirit week and hung on a chair,
Was the ridiculous outfit little Billy would wear.
He had neon yellow shoes to match his green shirt.
His pants were so bright that they made his eyes hurt.
He woke up in the morning, his hair all a mess,
But it was crazy hair day so no need to stress.
When he opened Door D, his expectations were high,
“Yay! Many people dressed up like me!” he cried.
As he walked to his locker his mood slowly changed,
“There are more people dressed normal…
That’s sort of strange!”
Spirit Week has traditionally been a time to come together to show school pride.The purpose has been to help pep up the football players for the Homecoming game. For some, like, Francisco Rios, Div. 574, Spirit Week was a time to go all out. He sported his hair especiallly crazy, dressed in his best nerdy outfit, and represented Lane colors in conjunction with all the appropriate days.
“Spirit week lived up to all of my expectations. I think that a lot of people dressed up,” Rios said.
Likewise, Joey Burbano, Div. 381, went all out for Hawaiian Day. He enjoyed the attention his outfit earned him.
“Everyone couldn’t help but love my coconut bra,” he said.
Sharcora Hawkins, Div. 475, had similar feelings about Spirit Week, saying it was a great way to let go, have fun, and look crazy. Sadly, Hawkins was sick on Retro Day and missed school. That was the only thing that held her back from a perfect Spirit Week. According to her, anyone who did not make an attempt to dress had no school spirit.
The more enthusiastic students were disappointed and surprised by those who did not participate because Spirit Week provides students the chance to take a break from reality and dress silly.
Some students blamed the Student Council’s choices of the theme days for what they thought were low levels of participation.
“I think that Hawaiian Shirt Day was lame,” said Amy Clinard, Div. 275. “Who owns that stuff? I wasn’t going to go out and buy clothes for that.”
Others also complained that the days chosen should have been combined or made more specific. Wells explained that the way students dressed up for ‘80s Day and Neon Day were very similar, resulting in a lack of variety.
The President of Student Council, Miguel Ortega, Div. 350, explained the process of approval that the theme days go through before being marked as final decisions.
“First, the Student Council drafts a list of possible themes for the days. We take the days that Mrs. Rice approves, and then make our final choices,” Ortega said, who went on to explain that several of the more creative ideas were shot down by the school’s administration or disallowed by CPS rules.
“As much as we would like to have a silly hat day, for example, under the schools dress policy we are not allowed to pass it,” Ortega said.
Ortega admitted to hearing negative comments about the themes for spirit week, but defended the choices.
“I don’t have much to say… except that it is not the Student Council to blame,” he said. “If someone truly has great suggestions about spirit days, then, as head of the Student Council, I encourage them to become a representative and I will be more than happy to listen.”
Seniors who decided to follow the unwritten tradition of dressing differently from everyone else on a spirit day – this year wearing pajamas – were stopped by security and forced to change. Dr. LoBosco claimed that dressing differently from the rest of the school takes away the “solidarity and togetherness” of the student body, which defeats the whole purpose of having Spirit Week. According to LoBosco, if students want to wear pajamas, they have every right to tell Student Council to make it official.
When the end of the week finally came,
Billy was ready for the Homecoming game.
He put on his foam finger, ready to shout,
Because that is what Spirit Week is all about!
