Coming into my freshman year of high school, I had my mind set on what the high school experience was supposed to be. I had carefully crafted my expectations based on what I have seen in pop culture such as movies and tv shows. A couple of these expectations consisted of more freedom, wacky spirit weeks with high participation, school dances, and spending Friday nights under the bright lights in the student section. In other terms, I was expecting everyone to be overly involved with Omaha North. To my surprise, I was let down by the students in my high school community. 

Omaha North High School is greatly struggling with their school spirit. The number of students in our student sections and people participating in spirit weeks is only decreasing more and more from previous years. 

School spirit is important. Showing your school spirit is more than just showing support for your school. According to the Connecticut Association of Schools, showing support helps fellow classmates perform better academically and are happier than the less-spirited people. 

 During the 2024-2025 football season, Omaha North’s student section was not filled with students from the school. From my personal experience, there were at maximum around 20 students sitting in the student section and actively participating in the themes.  

Max Samland, 9, has been in the student section every game this football season. Although it is only his freshman year, Samland has already started to pick up on the participation at games. 

 “It needs to get bigger, that’s for sure,” said Samland.  

Samland sees the importance of school spirit is because it “brings together the community of the school.”  

My first year of high school, I was so excited to be a part of the school spirt and the community. Student sections, spirit weeks and decorating for homecoming were all a part of my excitement. Disappointment hit me when I went to the first football game of the season. There were around 15 people in the student section around me participating in the theme. The student section was almost nonexistent. They also did not engage in many cheers as a group. 

Other high schools in the Metro area have student sections filled to the brim. At Papillion LaVista South, their student section has a designated name. The Black Hole, which has its’ own Instagram page, is filled with screaming fans every game. 

Aside from the student sections at games, students also rarely participate in spirit weeks in the school. There is only a hand full of students that actually dress up for the spirit weeks. I can understand why they might not want to dress up because they might not have the materials at their house, or they are “too cool.” 

 Layton Feeney, 9, is one of the handful of students who sit in the student section and participate in themes. Feeney says that most people find the student section too crowded, and they would rather just sit at the top with their friends.  

“They could easily sit at the bottom with their friends,” Feeney said.  

To boost the students’ school spirit, Omaha North could try making participation in the spirit weeks or games themes a competition that could result in winning a prize. The students would be more engaged if they were winning something while expressing their school spirit. The prize would not have to be anything big. It can be anywhere from a North t-shirt or as simple as a bag of chips. 

Getting the students at Omaha North to be more a part of our community is very important. A school should not be a place just to learn for eight hours straight. A school should be a place to make connections and relationships. School spirit plays a large role in that. Take action and make Omaha North more spirited.