School Spirit Research Paper

Words: 1063
Pages: 5

From the beginning of one’s educational experience the idea of “school spirit” is one that students become familiar with. Doing things such as wearing school apparel, participating in activities and attending sporting events are just some of the ways that one can express their school spirit. But on the campus of American University (AU), there seems to be a lack of school spirit. I first had the realization that American lacked school spirit when I saw the experiences of my friends at other schools. They went to sports games, and had homecomings. Some of my friends also got loads of free apparel featuring their school’s logo. These are things that I have not experienced being an AU student. Although there are several factors that contribute to the lack of school spirit at American University, the primary reason can be attributed to athletics (or lack thereof). …show more content…
Choosing to not focus on athletics is a reflection of American University’s institutional values. Rightfully so, American is a school that prioritizes academics, as students attend the university to receive an education. Even still, other schools have events that are unrelated to the realm of athletics which also create and foster school spirit and a sense of community. And AU doesn’t seem to offer anything that truly brings the campus together. Thus, the lack of school spirit at American University may be attributed to other factors such as location and the type of student that the university attracts, leading the school to not have a desire to create school spirit. American University can solve the problem of being a spiritless place by listening to the suggestions of its own students, as well as looking at other schools with similar characteristics (in terms of size, selectiveness etc.) who are able to create school