As spirit week rolled around, the hallways were lined with bikers and surfers, jerseys and nineties, twins and outfits for wrong occasions, among a grand sea of… hoodies and sweatpants. Spirit week this year surprised Arlington High School with a wide range of both well dressed fancy outfits and also a large number of students wearing their daily clothes.
Spirit week is all about building camaraderie and fostering school spirit. A goal that cannot truly be achieved if students themselves do not participate. Yet, many had their own reasons to not come dressed in fancy attire.
“I did not like how the juniors got the worst color for spirit week. And so I decided not to participate at all,” said Maddie Garcia (‘27) who chose to not dress up last week as she was rebelling against the color white assigned to Juniors.
Lack of inclusivity in decisions for even a single day led to a few students deciding to sit it out for the entire week. Several suggested that the school should “do a vote on… what the themes are” rather than just the student council deciding the themes. Space/Alien Day, Future Career Day and Anything-But-A-Backpack Day were among common theme inputs.
Students also had different reasons to treat the week as they would any other, with some noting that regular clothes were more comfortable, convenient and school appropriate. It was also stated that the lack of time and/or resources was a major thing that held them back.
“Either I didn’t have time or I didn’t have the items to dress up,” said Leif England (‘27).
Students can be very busy with school work, jobs and sports. Pressure to make outfits look perfect adds to it; so for some, it seemed easier to not wear anything fancy at all. However, efforts put into dressing up were regarded differently by students.
“It’s just really fun when you can actually dress up to do something… It’s like Halloween, but following a theme,” said Elinor Richardson (‘27) who dressed up the whole week.
While this spirit week had its ups and downs, there’s plenty to look forward to next time: more inclusive themes and, hopefully, more enthusiasm in the halls, even if it comes with imperfect, quirky outfits.
“It makes us all come together and then it gives us something to bond over,” said Richardson.
