Diving into the mystery of school spirit’s lack after Cowhide: Redwood’s Associated Student Body (ASB) offers their insight on why it disappears and entertains its revival.
By: Haley Padilla and Anel Lua
School spirit is a fundamental aspect of student life; it’s present on all school campuses spanning the world. For Redwood, Ranger spirit is at its pinnacle throughout the weeks of Homecoming and Cowhide. Dress-up days impel participation, clubs are blossoming with engagement, students fill the quad to participate in lunchtime activities, and the stands of the Mineral King Bowl are occupied by vigorous students cheering on Redwood’s Varsity Football team every Friday night. The retrieval of the Hide only amplified the cheerfulness of Rangers.
Yet as Cowhide week ends and the Hide is stored away, a difference in Redwood’s school culture begins to develop. Most clubs resort back to their caves of dormancy, ASB’s appearances begin to dwindle, and phantoms of enthusiasm haunt the vacant stands of the Mineral King Bowl. The absence of Redwood’s school spirit evokes the question: Where does our school spirit go?
Photo Gigantea
In the age before COVID-19, our school spirit was profound and consistent. Mrs. Aston, ASB Director, says, “From what I saw the first semester [before COVID], the kids were energetic and they weren’t afraid to be goofy or wild or all of those things for school spirit.”
“It was really different post COVID. It was almost the opposite, I feel like,” Aston said. Isolation and a detachment from the typical school environment severed the thread between students and spirit for their school. Upon students’ return in 2021, Ranger’s patriotism for their school had been severely damaged, crafting a mundane culture in Redwood; a sharp contrast to the excitement from the past.
The distinction between the apex of school spirit pre-COVID times and now is quite noticeable. Even during the well-celebrated football season, Redwood’s current generation of Rangers offers only a fourth of past students’ energy. And, after Cowhide week, all excitement decays, awaiting its eventual rebirth during Love Week the next year.
However, the decline of school spirit following Redwood’s latest Cowhide victory is still odd. Why doesn’t Rangers’ joy last after football ends and other sports’ seasons begin?
Well to put it in a nutshell, it’s the level of competition between the other sports and schools.
Certainly, winter sports at all schools demonstrate their competitiveness, but they don’t exceed the competitiveness in football; it’s an entirely different league. Additionally, the size of the crowd decreases with each passing season.
Photo N.Miller/Gigantea
Football occurs at the dawn of the school year when summer break has finally come to a close. People wish to be engaged with their community once more and to make new friends or to get closer to old ones, leading to the congestion of an audience during football games. By the time the winter sports season rolls around, Rangers have already established relationships with one another and stopped caring about attending sports games, leaving the bleachers for basketball and soccer vacant. To enhance our school spirit, Rangers must be willing to show up and support their school.
Even though we are currently in the downseason, school spirit still lingers. It can be seen in the mass of students rushing to the quad to decorate gingerbread cookies, in the students who devote their free time to studying, and in the athletes who practice diligently to bring victory home.
Our school spirit is not gone. It’s simply still growing.
Haley Padilla
Haley Padilla, '28, is a first year Clubs & Lifestyles and News writer for the Gigantea. She looks forward to writing a variety of stories and connecting with new people.
Anel Lua
Tags: clubs & lifestyles, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, rhs, schoolspirit, visalia ca
