Revving up the school spirit, ASB sponsored a regressive decade-themed Spirit Week from Sept. 19-21 to pump kids full of Downey pride. Inspired by a tentative idea of a 50s Rally, the Downey High ASB resolved to start off the school year with a brief look at the past.
The week started off on Monday with 90s day and progressed toward the past with Tuesday being 80s day and so on until Friday, the day of the 50s Rally. Students from all grade levels participated throughout the week, donning bright colors and headbands on 80s day and tie-dye shirts and round glasses on 60s day. Senior Jazmin Hernandez participated on 80s day, sporting hot pink leggings, light blue shorts, dark blue soccer socks, white vans, blue sweatbands on her wrists, and her hair up and to the side. When asked to comment on her clothes, Hernandez responded with glee:
“I chose those because I liked all the bright colors and how they looked good,” Hernandez said.
The festivity of the week was also apparent in senior Eda Nino. While the main reason to participate was the fact that it was her senior year, Nino also felt reassured by her father. While many look goofy wearing clothes that are horrendously outdated, a sense of camaraderie is always noticeable.
“I think it’s always fun to come the next day and see what everyone thought to wear,” Nino said. “When I went full out on 80s day this year it was nice to see what Stephanie Montes thought 80s day was and her outfit was completely different from mine.”
Throughout the week, people all interpreted the fashions of the decade in different ways. On 90s day, some grunge fashion was displayed while others chose to wear jeans jackets or teased hair with high-waist pants. The differing fashions of decades past were represented in humorous ways, all boosting the spirit of students. For instance, on 80s day most people were swathed in bright, gym-style clothing. Most participants wore their hair up and to the side, such as Hernandez. For 70s day, students wore disco attire with bellbottom pants. 60s day was greeted with the cool, mellow colors of hippies and flower children. On the last and final day, 50s day, participants wore conservative clothing: poodle skirts and woolen sweaters.
“Don’t worry about standing out,” junior Alejandro Lomeli said. “Everyone’s going to look like you. I definitely recommend everyone dress; no one’s going to stop you.”
Ultimately, ASB’s main goal with Spirit Week is to get kids involved and excited about school. Have they succeeded, however, is the question. From the amount of participation and creativity put into outfits, clearly ASB succeeded in bringing spirit to the students of Downey High.
Spirit, however, is not the sole objective of ASB; they also hope to get students more invested in school activities. Hernandez herself states that due to her seniority in the high school, involvement seems imperative.
“Going to meetings and ASB were the last things on my mind,” Hernandez says.
It might be premature to say that a single week inspired Hernandez to involve herself, but the week certainly must be the culmination of four years in a school that she’s proud to be a part of.
When asked what people would like to see for future Spirit Weeks, many responded with answers that leaned toward the celebration of one’s own culture or something that dealt with cowboys and Indians.
School spirit is evident in every school. The use of a Spirit Week is not just a flimsy method used to draw out spirit only for it to fade out within the next two weeks; Spirit Week is about bringing together the students and the school. For that reason alone, Spirit Week stands as one of the better weeks of school, and more than likely a week that will be remembered even after a person leaves the gates of Downey High.
