School spirit: is it an exuberant crowd cheering on their favorite team, or the collective will of students in unity while studying for their finals? While many can agree that the community at MECA is unlike any other, students find themselves split on where MECA’s school spirit stands.

So what defines school spirit at MECA? It’s something that might not be as simple as you think.

While it may seem easy to jump towards school sports, Mt. SAC ECA isn’t known for its athletic prowess. In fact, much of the school’s focus is geared towards academics.

But even academics can become nothing more than a tired subject—bordering on boring while filled with constant lectures and endless coursework. In these times, students are left yearning for something to get them through the day, a motivator, a light in the dark.

Class competitions are a prime example of this.

Providing students with an outlet to test their ability and their competitive spirit, each grade level is pitted against each other in games like tug of war, bubble soccer, and so much more.

Freshman Samantha Perez said, “I think it’s pretty cool how everyone actually participates… in a lot of other schools I don’t see this much participation.”

Being such an academically motivated school, many students enjoy the break from schoolwork, particularly if it means shortening class time with a special schedule.

“I always like cheering on my team because then, yay! We win and all that. And even if we don’t…it’s still fun to go,” said junior Kyra Smith, “I’m more of a spectator than a player myself…[and] I definitely get really excited.”

The closeness that the competitions provide is unlike anything else. Oftentimes, many students give it their all in the competitions, pushing themselves for the sake of the game to win those beloved class points.

“I decide… One, if friends are doing it too, [or] if I’m actually good at it,” said sophomore Albert Martinez.

Martinez, like many others, participates in the games alongside their friends, imbuing them with a sense of confidence and spirit.

“I try to go out in color and stuff…hype up everyone and lift [their] spirits,” said Perez.

With their own signature color, each class dresses up in shades of green, yellow, blue, and red, cheering on their fellow players through passionate screams and thunderous applause. MECA’s size makes no difference, as in those moments, students are united under one universal goal: winning.

Still, ASB makes even more of an effort to fill up those empty weeks with spirit days.

From “Fill a Cup” to “Twin Day,” students are encouraged to participate in the events for the sole reason of garnering more class points.

Despite their best efforts, however, there’s still a fair number of challenges.

“Most things are rushed and barely get done…nobody looks at posters…So how are we supposed to get the word around?” asked sophomore Makenna Chung.

Like with many things, too much of something can lose its effect, and the same thing has happened with the posters around campus.

“It’s fun, it has a lot of involvement…but not everyone does it…sometimes it gets boring,” Martinez said, “Just make some of the events for all people… propose it better.”

One of the biggest issues MECA has is advertising, and the lack of awareness concerning class competitions and ASB events—among other things—is by far one of the biggest hurdles they face.

Katelynn Lee, an ASB Secretary and senior, shares her take.

“We don’t have as many poster makers as we did before in ASB… we used to have a whole team, and now I have a group of five,” Lee said.

With the constant restraint of time, Lee is forced to make do with what she has at her disposal, whether it’s two weeks or one.

Regardless of their rocky start, she promises to improve her efficiency and productivity starting second semester.

Carrying that positivity, Chung said, “Even though the word isn’t really spread around the school, it’s still fun to hang out with my friends in there.”

Those who are aware of the events see the effort and time put into them—and even with the flaws in planning, ASB manages to put out an event that a majority of students seem to love.

“I feel like the direction we’ve been going is pretty good,” Senior ASB member Kayla Inigas said, “because I feel like we’re making the spirit days more like something that people would actually participate in.”

Slowly but surely, ASB has been finding its footing and with that, a better grasp of planning.

In spite of the many canceled events and last-minute plans, they’ve been going through several stages of trial and error, all of which may further improve as the school year continues.

“Especially the dances…they always have really good stuff…and the rest of the events are also really interesting as well,” said Smith.

Even with the little mishaps and schedule changes, the students who have built up a sense of nostalgia for the events continue to show their support.

Evidently, school spirit is just one of those many things that can’t be fully defined by a single concept. It’s in the work that goes into planning out events from ASB, and it’s in the students who participate in the class competitions, whether they’re on the sidelines or breathless on the field.