Metea has been a school now for ten years. However, an issue that the school often ignores is a lack of collective school spirit. Yes, there is Marty the Mustang, the pep assemblies, Mustang Fridays, and many more opportunities. A lot of people here do have spirit, but why do people not want to hear it? Why is school spirit so important, and why does Metea seem to miss the mark? There have been many articles about how to bolster school spirit. Wikihow has one, numerous Pinterest moms have thrown in their two cents, even SparkNotes has contributed to the conversation. Metea has tried to implement some of these ideas, to varying levels of success. 

“I’m trying to do something that our assistant principal, Mr. Debruycker, started. I’m just trying to continue to do great things that he put into place,” athletic director Matt Fehrmann said. “Mustangs Supporting Mustangs, Captain’s Consort, we’re listening to the athletes, listening to groups. ‘What do you need from us?’ kind of thing. And what can we do to help make us better? I’m trying to continue what he started.”

Mr. Fehrmann’s actions, mainly concerning things like the Fall Sports Alliance and his ask for the football players to attend the fall play if the theatre people visit the home football games, have made drastic positive moves in what school spirit is for the people down in the athletic area. The call for “Mustangs Supporting Mustangs” has contributed heavily to that area’s culture. 

 Metea has so many separate parts to be proud of, but many people only recognize the spirit for the sports area as the one true school spirit. That is not the case. Metea is a school of many achievements and many different people. While people in the sports area get recognized very often, groups with similar followings like the speech team, the music department or theatre rarely get grouped in as a part of the school spirit. Why? That’s likely due to high school social cues’ friend: stereotyping. This is why Mr. Fehrmann’s plan between the varsity football team and the cast and crew of the fall play is so important for school spirit: he’s fostering a relationship between two drastically different ends of the school for the sake of getting to know the other better. 

“The thing about school spirit is in this school; It’s not ‘there’s only one school spirit’,” junior Anish Khot said.

Every student is going to have something to be proud of in the school. The Macmillian Dictionary defines school spirit as “the feeling of being proud and enthusiastic about the school that you go to.” Metea still has a ways to go in finding a collective school spirit like at many other schools in the district, but there’s still something there. Look at the music wing: they have sent at least one musician to the state level almost every year. The speech team finished in second and fifth place in state competitions last year. We have many clubs that have their own personal achievements that they can be proud of. And yes, people who may not have found something to be proud of are inevitable. But that is fine. Much like a collective school identity, people find what they are proud of over a little bit of time.

“When you see other people wearing the same thing as you, in this big group together, it’s another way to show that you love the school you go to,” Senior MC Rissa Bajuz said. From acting as a unifying factor to being just fun, school spirit has many different definitions for different people. But, the overlying factor is pride in the school you attend.