WANTED: Moor Spirit from You and Me

JENNIFER PIERCE
Copy Editor

If thereʼs anything that should make students proud, itʼs the school culture. Itʼs what we have built and created by being a part of our school and participating in what our school has to offer.
Wait, why are you snickering? Oh.
Participation. The school lacks participation. But perhaps it is better to define school culture fi rst so weʼre all on the same page.
According to dictionary.com, culture is defined as “that which is excellent in the arts, manners, letters, scholarly pursuits, etc.” Most people donʼt really think about it, but culture is a huge umbrella. For our school specifically, it covers our sports, clubs, academics, extracurricular activities and even down to our style of dress and where we sit at lunch. Itʼs what we do; itʼs how we act. And for some reason, according to both teacher and student reports, our school lacks participation and school spirit.
How are we not participating? Our sports teams are full, our clubs are full, and lunch is lively. What is it that makes us disconnected from our school?
Maybe itʼs the fact that out of 2,800 students, not even half vote for Executive (about 30-800, depending on the season, according to ASB President Amy He). Or on Quad Fridays, few people come to look at the festivities. Or during pep rallies, the only ones riled up
is ASB. Even our sports games have little support. The one year I went to the Homecoming game, there was so much space between people on the bleachers, the audience could have laid across them comfortably to watch the game.
But itʼs not just mere participation (or the lack thereof) that makes our school culture; itʼs also how we carry ourselves and relate with one another. Cheating, cussing, hanging out on Main Street, pretending thereʼs a pool on top of C-building also add to our school make-up.
Our entire culture isnʼt fl awed. Itʼs unique, but not enough of us are participating or even caring about it. Weʼre not as unifi ed as we could be, and since weʼve talked (and frankly, complained) enough about it, itʼs time to move on to step two: doing.
So, what are we going to do about it?
There is no easy solution to this. Thereʼs no magic pill or spell that will immediately cure us of all our problems and shortcomings, especially since this problem is an accumulation of many factors over a long period of time that finally settled into habit. Thereʼs only one real route out of this, and that goes back to the individual: YOU.
Yes, youʼve heard it all before: each person must do their part for the school. As rebellious, hormonal teenagers, this comes as a real turn-off for most. But if a majority of you are going to complain about it, you can re-channel that energy into participating and loving our school. It doesnʼt have to be a particularly big investment. Picking up a stray piece of trash that wanders onto your path is enough. Some other tips: voting, going to games, cheering at pep rallies.
Our school is over 100 years old. Some of our students participated in World War II. Some of them suffered in the Great Depression and feared for their safety during the Cold War. Donʼt let all that history go to waste. They suffered and worked to make our school what it is. Do your part because Alhambra High School is one of a kind.
Be proud. Be loud. Do Moor.