School spirit, as defined by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Is about each student’s passion for their school, the joy they find in unifying with other students, and their future plans to return for special events after graduation. It is quite apparent that Orono yields school spirit in droves.

Orono utilizes many activities to foster the sense of school spirit, but we have a particular bias towards dress-up days. Multiple weeks each year are dedicated to dressing up in wacky outfits and disrupting the day as a collective. It would appear counterintuitive to disrupt a student’s learning so frequently, but English teacher and Student Senate advisor, Jarrett Lundquist says that is just the point.

“School shouldn’t be a place where students act as robots, waiting to complete their tasks. That’s boring for everybody, and so dress-up days give teenagers the avenue to take control of their environment, and remove some of that rigidity. Of course, planning these days has some push and pull, because we want to make sure that students are still learning, so the goal is to just push the limits enough to have fun, and still learn at the same time,” Lundquist said.

Having a mindset of healthy disruption gives a whole new view on the subject, and allows for one of the most important aspects of the practice to shine through, which is the unity it brings through fun.

“Wanting to belong is a fundamental human need, and in high school, that need manifests itself in many different ways. People of different age-groups and backgrounds are put into a building [with no prior knowledge of each other]’, English teacher Larry Williams said.

It is vitally important to understand that students want to belong, and they need to belong in order to be properly educated and understood. However, dress-up days don’t just exist to make the school slough more fun, but to make students 10 years from now happy as well.

12th grade Class President Joey Mariani expressed that one of the main goals of the student senate is to make sure that everyone enjoys their high school experience now, while also having something to look back on proudly and fondly. He noted that Orono has a particularly high spirit, and this sentiment can find its roots in Orono’s vast array of spirit-related activities.

But while Orono may have many dress-up days, they also appear to be reused much of the time. Themes such as ‘Country Vs. Country Club’ make their appearance sometimes during multiple spirit weeks each year.

The seniors that are part of the student senate are the ones who get to decide the themes for each spirit week. Due to this fact, the only corroboration between the student senate and the student body is through the direct friendships of the senate members.

Senior Riley Jeremiason suggested that having a google form for students to propose themes would be an enticing idea, that could perhaps enrich student involvement in spirit-week. Mariani echoes the same sentiment that a suggestion box could be introduced to seamlessly and easily allow student participation.