Does a Focus on School Athletics Isolate Part of the Student Body?
April 15, 2019
School athletics usually increase school spirit. Sporting events allow students to support and cheer on their school. A lot of schools put an emphasis on athletics, maybe to gain school spirit or maybe they just care about athletics. The question is, though, is the focus on athletics above everything else isolating the rest of the student body?
Not every student plays a sport or even likes sports. Some schools, like SHS, focus heavily on sports. In my opinion, this isolates a large amount of kids. Some kids are really into art, music, dance, writing, fashion, or etc. which is not as heavily emphasized as athletics, but it is just as important.
For example, athletes that go to state competition will get to walk around the halls while everyone stands out in the hallway to cheer them on. SHS had a band student who went to state competition for band (a huge accomplishment), but she did not have the opportunity to walk around the school and people cheer her on. Why are those two things treated differently? Shouldn’t we treat all students’ interests as important?
A lot of people complain about SHS not having high school spirit. I’ve heard people say that don’t want to have school spirit because they feel like they don’t belong here. Shouldn’t we want everyone to belong here and be proud to be an Owl?
Take this survey on if you think a focus on athletics isolates part of the student body!
