School Spirit Has Changed Over The Years

In 2012, Highland paid for every student’s ticket to the semifinal football playoff game at the Rice-Eccles Stadium. Everyone packed into buses and brought their school spirit with them.
The mood quickly dampened when a blizzard fell over the stadium, but the show went on. The snowstorm was so bad, that KJZZ – the station broadcasting the game on television – stopped the broadcast because visibility was too hampered by the snow.
But the students stayed. Teachers were handing out trash bags to freezing students to use as a shield from the snow, as no one was prepared with proper winter gear.
Today, it is hard to find such a dedicated group of fans, particularly students.
School spirit is a huge part of every school’s culture, which can make school events the center of students’ social lives. However, times are always changing, and with social media becoming more present in teenagers’ lives, that takes over as the center of social lives now.
Highland principal Jeremy Chatterton talked about his experience with high school events, especially sports games.
“We would make plans to meet the games instead of always having access to our friends’ locations,” Chatterton said. “I think that’s changed, since you knew where everyone was going to be, school games were where you had to be.”
With the increase in social media use for teenagers, it is easier for people to connect over their phones than in person, and specifically, at school events.
A study from Michigan State University shows that increased screen time causes strain on relationships. When people are constantly on their devices like phones or computers, they engage in less meaningful face-to-face interactions.
Even though in person social interactions have been decreasing, Highland still brings in crowds for major rival games. Many people show up to support, especially during Freak East, but numbers have dropped with the people showing up to the games.
Student athletes agree that it is more fun to play with big crowds cheering them on.
“I always see the community rally for athletics. When sports teams are doing well, people want to be supportive,” Chatterton said. “It’s kind of the place to be and thing to do.”
The athletes love all the support they can get. Grady Lee, a Highland basketball player, says that with small crowds, athletes have to generate their own energy instead of using the audience to hype them up.
“I went to a lot of Highland games as a kid and seeing the crowds was so crazy. It feels like Highland has always had a good student section and support throughout the crowd,” Lee said. “Now that I play in these games, it’s super fun to see everyone support and gives the games more meaning.”