After a swirl of confusion and controversy among Clover High School’s students, faculty and administration, principal Ron Wright announced Friday, Sept. 3 that CHS would participate in the traditional spirit week preceding the Oct. 1 Clover v. Riverside Homecoming football game.

Administrators discussed spirit week over the summer and had originally come to the conclusion that because of the growth in attendance at CHS, as well as the increased diversity of the school and possible disruptions within the classroom, the school’s spirit program was in need of restructuring.

“One of the aspects of spirit week that has been incorporated through a trial and error basis, nobody’s at fault, but it has basically become ‘Ignore school rules for a week and do what you want to,’” assistant principal Wendell Sowell said.

“Students have gone to greater and greater lengths to do something sensational for spirit week and have taken advantage of it to promote themselves.”

“To show sensational attention to themselves has nothing to do with school spirit.”

CHS teacher Rebecca Vaughn agrees that events such as spirit week can become disruptive, but only when the students don’t live up to their responsibilities.

“As a teacher in the school, I support the administration’s decisions,” Vaughn said. “I strictly adhere to the administration’s policies in my classroom and I didn’t allow these things to become a disruption.”

“Personally, I have no problems with having it or not. If they choose to have spirit week, I will support it. I always have. If they choose not to have spirit week, I support the administration’s reason for that, whatever it may be,” Vaughn reasoned. “I’ve never personally complained about spirit week, but I do believe spirit week should be about Clover High School, 100 percent.”

Instead of one full spirit week, spirit days were considered for the days that Clover hosted a football game at home.

“In the past, I think that spirit week has set off a level of unrest that takes a week or two weeks to recover from,” Sowell said. “It’s just unsettling. The more consecutive days you go the more unraveling takes place.”

“We are in full support of school spirit and believe that spirit days are a positive idea because it tends to focus on things that school spirit is all about. It focuses on having pride in your school and the programs involved.”

Not all teachers and students, however, were satisfied with the change in the spirit activities program.

Having been a tradition for over forty years, teachers Alice-Lynn Stein, Amy Moss, Beth VanEtten and Gloria McGinnas believed that spirit week should remain a fixture in the football season.

“Events and activities like spirit week unite the student body, making each student part of a whole,” McGinnas said. “When you have spirit week, you encourage people to get involved and say ‘Go Eagles!’; to go to the football games. The student involvement fills the air with excitement and anticipation for the game ahead. That’s something our students and athletes need.”

Moss agreed that it’s good for students to be excited about their school and what’s going on.

“Learning should be our number one priority, of course, but students are also here to grow,” Moss said. “They’re also here to enjoy their high school years. Statistics show that extra activities help keep students involved. The ones that are in those activities are the ones that stay in school, and they do learn.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its membership have found through thorough research that participation in athletics, as well as the supporting of interscholastic sports, promote citizenship and sportsmanship.

“Students getting excited about our school, dressing up for whatever that day is and painting blue and gray on their face is what high school’s about,” Comer said. “It’s about feeling like an eagle.”

NFHS believes that they instill a sense of pride in community, teach lifelong lessons of teamwork and self-discipline and facilitate the physical and emotional development of America’s youth.

“It would be awful not to have spirit week because spirit is a big thing that Clover’s all about,” Varsity cheerleader Jessica Church said. “We always try to get the whole community involved.”

The NFHS supports co-curricular endeavors through many avenues, including National High School Activities Week.

The nation’s high schools are encouraged by NFHS to promote the values inherent in high school athletics and other activities such as spirit squads during this week-long celebration.

“Spirit week is very important to not only the students’ morale, but the teachers’ morale as well,” Stein said. “If anything, I’ve seen enjoyment out of spirit week. All of the social studies teachers, as well as the math teachers, dress up and look forward to being a part of it.”

“I feel like it’s un-American for a high school not to have spirit week.”

The NFHS has also found through 1998 research that these activities are not a diversion, but rather an extension of a good educational program.

Students who participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and fewer discipline problems.

“I believe that a lot of times, if the students are enjoying school and enjoying what’s going on, they’ll want to be here and work harder so that they can participate in these things,” VanEtten said. “If we don’t have these activities, this might limit what the students want to do; educational-wise or socially.”

Two of these students were seniors Courtney Lucas and Amber Annan.

“We’re old enough to handle ourselves and not disrupt a classroom,” Annan insisted. “Why shouldn’t we be able to show our support for our athletes that work so hard and represent us?”

Lucas was so upset that spirit week was being eliminated her senior year, her mother, Janet Owings, sent a letter to the district asking that spirit week be reconsidered.

CHS Student Council members attended a meeting on Fri. Sept. 3 during the Labor Day holiday with Wright to show their reasoning in reinstating Spirit Week.

“With the help of the hardworking and school spirited Student Council, teachers, an understanding administration, Spirit Week has been reinstated,” Student Council advisor Rhonda Morris said. “Thanks for all your help!”

Wright agreed that the banning of spirit week was a mistake and that it should be returned to CHS , but days and events that would encourage rule breaking were not acceptable.

Student Council representative must provide Wright with a schedule of events for the week in advance.

“I’m glad that Mr. Wright gave us spirit week back,” Lucas said. “For a while there, I was feeling like my senior year was going to be awful. Now, we can have fun and support our Eagles!”