Imagine walking into school on the last first day of high school as a senior, inhaling the scents and taking in the sights. Perhaps wallowing in sorrow and nostalgia, reluctant to ever leave this higher place of learning that some of us call home. Perhaps silently thanking whatever higher power exists that yes, the extended period of monstrous suffering is finally almost over.
The amount of school spirit among us seniors can differ greatly depending on the person. While some would rather eat a moldy “Doritos Locos Tacos” that they found in the trash rather than attend another football game, other seniors are excitedly donning Hype Squad t-shirts and ready to attend sports games that they have waited three years to stand in the front of. The sense of family and closeness among one another that senior year often brings definitely does not hinder those who are energetic and spirited. Personally, I often find myself in the middle of the spectrum between “enthusiastic” and “over it.” But like all tragedies throughout history that unite a country, rude obscenities painted on a rock somehow manage to do a superb job at allowing the senior class to rise up as one large, powerful, spirited student body and defend ourselves.
So, while some of us are content to sit at home knitting socks and watching Netflix, or filling out college applications and silently crying on the inside, I personally remind myself that as a senior, I probably have a duty to this school to attend at least one athletic event other than my own. I will join the hype squad standing front and center at a football game sometime soon, or risk being attacked by angry hype squad mobsters carrying pitchforks and torches outside my front door.
Which brings me to my next point, the Hype Squad. Although the name may give away mixed signals, for the definition of a squad is “a small group of people having a particular task,” it would be more accurately described as a club in my eyes, or “an association or organization dedicated to a particular interest or activity.” While it was started ludicrously as a squad exclusively for a small group of seniors a few years ago, it has expanded democratically to include all students that have ever existed who wish to cheer in the student section at an athletic event. I could bring my neighbor’s dog to a football game and he would be welcomed into the hype squad.
Today, the club continues to do a lot of work creating signs and decorating the atrium extravagantly. Again, I would still estimate that the Hype Squad is not really an exclusive squad per say, but involves any student who wishes to participate in such activities. Which is exactly the way it should be. A lot of those tasks would probably get done without needing a specific organization, but I suppose it cannot hurt. “Anything for the college apps,” you gravely murmur to yourself. Perhaps the club simply exists to put an extravagant name behind a simpler idea; having school spirit. Or maybe people just really want a new t-shirt.
