As another exciting Spirit Week is underway, so is the judging that evaluates each  class’s performance; behavior and appropriateness included. Although there are so many  elements to the ballot, one bad decision from  one person can ruin a class’s evaluation for  the week and even possibly in future years.  Instead of punishing the entire class, judges  should keep in mind how hard students work
for their week to be a success.

Homecoming is a week that has the possibility of bringing out the best and the worst  in students. Competition can arise between  grades, and unfortunately it has been displayed in negative ways before; anything  from “glittering” in school to egging houses  out of school. By no means is hazing or treating other classes with disrespect acceptable;  students should show their class pride in
appropriate ways.

This type of disrespectful and negative  behavior, along with inappropriate dress, can  disqualify an entire grade; judges don’t take  these actions lightly. Although this poor  conduct is unacceptable, the entire class  should not be punished for a few students  who made a bad decision, whether intentional or not. The consequences should be  dealt with on an individual basis to the few
who misbehaved rather than the over 400  students in the grade.

Judging for Spirit Week is divided into  10 different categories, and then in each  category there are four to five sub-categories.  With a total of 37 sub-categories, only four involve  judging related to conduct  and appropriateness. If this plays so little of  a role in the ballot, it should not have to take  precedence over categories such as creativity,  design, and effort; things that the class spent  months putting hours of their time into.

If only a few cases of disrespectful behavior exist out of a student body of over 1,600,  the rules should not be so strict so that  everyone is punished. If there was a large  amount of students negatively affecting the  school environment, the ballots should be  altered with a different type of focus on  appropriate behavior, but these types of  parameters don’t seem necessary with how little it occurs.

With so many people  in a class, there always are  varying levels of participation and understanding of the defined rules. It is almost  impossible to control everyone in a grade  and unfortunately some have taken away  from the true spirit of Homecoming.

On the other hand, though, there is a large  group of students who have been planning  their Spirit Day since the end of Homecoming last year, dedicating countless hours of  their time for it to be a success. Even if there  is one wrong action from one person, it  should not have to disqualify an entire class  that has spent so much of their time on this  week; in itself this week should be a reward  for those dedicated students.

It is unfortunate when students are disrespectful and make bad decisions, but it is  even more unfortunate when a whole class  has to suffer because of the minority. Spirit  Week is meant to unify the classes and
display the incomparable pride we have for  South, and this can be displayed in the best  way if we are rewarded the hard work, effort,  and respectable actions rather letting one  negative event get in the way.