Remember all of those old High School movies? The ones that supposedly depict the average American High School where the cheerleaders, jokes, nerds, and dorks all fit into their own cliques. The school where there are no empty seats at home games for any sport and everyone in the crowd is dressed in school colors, shouting and cheering at the “big game.”

Schools aren’t really like that anymore, at least from what I’ve seen. Students no longer flood the gymnasium to see the team take on their crosstown rivals. There just isn’t the same kind of energy any longer.

Is this because there are now other things to occupy teenagers’ time? Now that there always seems to be something on television, the Internet never ends, and almost everyone you see has a cell phone, maybe students no longer think they need to go to a school basketball game to socialize with friends and classmates. Today there are a million ways to keep occupied and to catch up with people in ways that don’t involve watching a school sporting event.

Maybe times have changed. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun anymore to go cheer on your school’s team. Even if it appears like the teams don’t need support, they always do. Whether the opponents are a team your school will clobber or be clobbered by, just having more fans cheering for them gives so much more energy and confidence to the players. It really does make a difference.

Uni has so many multi-talented students. They aren’t just good at acing standardized tests and schoolwork. There are so many gifted students who excel in areas outside the realm of academics. Many of those students work just as hard, if not harder, at improving those skills as they do with their intellectual ones. These people deserve to be appreciated. Show them that all of their hard work is worth something and it’s not just another thing to pass away their free time.

Now, with Spirit Week just days away, I’d say it’s time to try some of that “school spirit” they talk about so much in the movies. Go out and see your classmates work hard! Spirit Week can only have spirit if people are willing to cheer.