Walking through the halls during spirit week, you rarely see anyone dressed up. As the enthusiasm for school pride has been on the decline for a few years now, Salina South High School is attempting to foster school spirit once again.
“When I was in school, I loved being in high school. I love being in events, I love being involved in everything. I think it’s super important, especially for teenagers, to support each other because it can be a negative community sometimes. For me, when I am at a school event, I see a lot less of that. It’s important for the community in school,” Shelby Mann, Student Council Sponsor, said.
With a student population of 2000, a majority of students are not involved in school activities. However, to combat this, at the beginning of the school year, the school sent out a survey of activities that students are interested in. Teachers then created clubs based on student interests. One of these clubs is bracelet-making club.

“We just wanted a place for students to be at the end of the day, and to give a sense of community. You know, not everyone’s an athlete or a music superstar. It is important to have somewhere you can feel like you belong.” Pamela Ash, sponsor of the bracelet making club said.
Another one of the clubs created was lego club. Each club meeting, sponsor of the club, Kevin Poland does different challenges for students, in order to engage them. Payton Rice (‘25) is someone who attends this club’s meetings often.

“I just wanted to join because I like to create things. It’s a really low-stress environment and I enjoy being here,” Rice said, “Clubs like these are important for students because they have somewhere to go.”
Salina South High School this year has also started student-led committees and initiatives in order to rebuild student pride. These committees attempt to find ways in order to improve a students experience at school and just get them more involved.
One of the main ways these committees get students involved is through spirit weeks, so students can dress up and feel involved.
“I love spirit weeks, I think it’s an easy way to show support for the school and it just lets me dress up which is really fun,” Jenna Strowig (‘27) said.
One day that typically finds itself is a day where you wear school gear in order to show school pride, however; a majority of students do not even participate in this.
“I think people wearing my school pride gear will help. The school needs to lower the prices for the clothing, it needs to go down, then people would start going,” Kingston Montgomery (‘26) said, “I think on assembly days, students should be wearing south gear. If we have an assembly, we should be able to show out.”

The energy at pep rallies is consistently at an all time low, with rows of students being on their phones, waiting for the bell to ring. Although pep rallies are not the only thing suffering due to a lack of school spirit, so are school events.
The only school events that have high attendance are basketball and football, however other sports, such as track lack in attendance from the student population.
“People getting hyped is important at games, it helps the people playing get hype and that they know we’re there for them. I wish more people would come out for track meets, especially for throwers, everybody should just come out,” Aunisty McNeal (‘24) said.
However, students are not the only ones that are falling behind in attendance, it is also teachers.
“School spirit is important because it brings the community together and has a common goal. Students, teachers should all come together to support our teams,” Mann said.
“I try to at least go to one of every event a year. I make it a point to show up to plays, sporting events, events that teachers are holding. As a STUCO sponsor, I make sure my students attempt to do that as well,” Mann said.

School spirit ultimately has a lot of benefits not only for students, but the community overall at the school. Salina South in the 2023-2024 school year, has been attempting to foster more of a community through boosting school spirit.
“School spirit helps represent us as a school and it helps people get together through something that is fun. It brings people together no matter who they are, once we’re all together nobody judges,” McNeal said.