The College is closer to school spirit than it thinks

Nicole Rayford and Nicolette Tamburri contributed to this article

The College of Charleston, America’s Most Beautiful College Campus according to Travel + Leisure, puts the city of Charleston at students’ fingertips. However, with so much to do off campus, are students spending any time on campus?

The College isn’t any traditional school. We don’t have a football team to celebrate victories or tailgate with friends in the fall, student events on campus are not heavily advertised, and there’s honestly not much inclusion.

What can we do to fix this?

Embracing school spirit is definitely something The College can work on. During the 2017-18 Cougar’s basketball season, school spirit had been the highest ever seen by some College of Charleston students. Student Life organizations including Cougar Activities Board put on events to kick off the season and throughout the season while advertising many opportunities for Student Life showcases and involvement such as Homecoming Week. During one week of the 36 weeks we are at The College, we bind together in support, but for the rest of the year, we are silent.

Studies have shown that those who participate in their school’s community can succeed more academically and be more engaged in general. Now, we must look for ways to create this high level of involvement throughout the entire year. The College of Charleston is full of traditions that can encourage the community and school spirit. Our traditions positively impact the entire school community and can lead to an increase of involvement. The process of planning these events and traditions will lead to more collaborations throughout our community.

Cougar Spirit Day was created by the Staff Advisory Committee in 2016to encourage the campus community, mainly faculty and staff, to show their school spirit by wearing college colors and attire on the first Friday of every month.

The College of Charleston bookstore sells a variety of attire for students to purchase and they offer a discount for faculty and staff, encouraging them to participate in this Spirit Day. The College also offers a variety of free college merchandise during major sports events.

Cougar Spirit Day is a great way to promote school spirit among faculty as they participate in a competition where they take photos of their offices and post them onto social media with the hashtag #CougarSpiritDay and the most spirited department wins.

It is evident the College could increase school spirit by holding events throughout the school year rather than clustered together during one season or time frame. Incorporating the whole student body, not just particular organizations or groups, would also be beneficial.

Our campus is unique, Cougars should embrace that and utilize what the Lowcountry has to offer them.

Let’s make The College of Charleston not only America’s Most Beautiful College Campus, but also America’s most welcoming.