Want more school spirit at Mary Washington? Start giving students a reason to actually show up

by CLAIRE LEATHEM

Social Media Editor

The first week back at school, before students can even get ready for class, the University of Mary Washington bombards the student body with events. Freshmen Welcome Week just wrapped up and the Campus Programming Board is not holding back.

Normally, students heading to their first classes of the semester will be stopped by volunteers and handed flyers detailing events for upcoming weeks all the way up to Nov. 20.

Campus events are incredibly important for a small school like UMW. Students cherish them when they’re active; however, in the colder months, campus becomes a ghost town. This can be avoided by having more events spaced out throughout the semester instead of having a barrage of events that students may not even go to.

Students return after winter break with nothing to do but schoolwork. This demotes school pride and encourages students to become hermits.  Everyone tends to keep to their own friend group and stay in their room. On top of that, the lack of a work and play balance causes students to experience repetitive, dry day-to-day lives.

All work and no play never ends well. Without social time to relax, students can get overwhelmed and stressed.

Campus events are what drive school spirit here at UMW and many students find them to be important pieces in building campus-wide kinship.

“Campus events have the opportunity to bring the Mary Washington community together to just have some fun and make new connections,” said Anna Woods, a junior theatre major and Vice President of Campus Programming Board.

“What I love about CPB is that we try to plan events with all Mary Wash students in mind and the more people that come, the more we can bring up our school spirit,” she said. “I would say besides sporting events, the most school spirit I see on campus is at our events.”

Jaya Lundy, a senior biomedical sciences major, is an employee of Student Activities and Engagement, agreed with this sentiment.

“I believe that events do boost school spirit and morale,” she said. “When the basketball team made it to the finals, there were multiple events to celebrate, which I believe helped build up spirit and got everyone excited for our school’s achievements.”

At the beginning of the year, events like the Great Eagle Duck Hunt, Cinema on the Circle, Rocktoberfest and The Big Ash Bonfire encourage students in competitiveness, teamwork skills and promote new friendships. But in the middle of the year, these big events slowly fade.

“When everyone is reaching the limits of their free time, students and faculty alike and just no one is available to put these big events together,” said Margeaux Grey, a senior elementary education major and CPB Karaoke chair. “I know from my time running karaoke, after a month or two from the start of the semester, a lot of people stop coming because they need to prioritize their studies.”

While it is true that people get busy, UMW’s most famous event, Devil Goat Day, is held during the busiest time of the year, yet the whole school always shows up for it.  

Devil Goat Day has been an event on campus for one hundred years now. It is an event that is hosted at the very end of the spring semester right before finals and students care about it so much that they ditch the books and go all out.

At this event, classes are divided into two teams: graduation years that fall on even years are the Goats and odd graduation years are the Devils. Teams compete in different challenges to earn points and whoever ends with the most will win.

While the actual cost of Devil Goat Day is confidential, it is widely known that this event is expensive and that the school pours a large amount of funds into it due to its beloved reputation..

Before the 1990s, Devil Goat Day wasn’t just a day, as it spanned across the entire academic year. Teams could earn points in different types of games and challenges, giving students an incentive to be interested in events year-round.

During the ‘80s and ‘90s, it started to lose popularity, leading it to be compacted to one day.

It would be greatly beneficial if the school could once again make Devil Goat Day events spread out across the year while still including ending in the Big Bash on the last Thursday of school that we all know and love.

It would be the best of both worlds. It would fill the colder, empty months with something fun for students to do. Students would be driven by competitiveness and school spirit.

Students would also form more attachment to their team and gain a sense of investment in a school-related topic that’s not in a classroom.

“Events are beneficial because it brings all of the students together outside of the classroom,” Li Li Avery, a junior business administration major, said.

Students are able to meet fellow classmates and get to know new people.

“Events create a sense of community that we wouldn’t find in everyday life on campus. It’s a way to interact with people in a positive way,” said Liz Lagatella, a junior business administration major.

More events mean more togetherness, and with this, the community that UMW preaches so much about can actually start to form.

Due to writer error, a Sept. 4 article titled “Want more school spirit at Mary Washington? Start giving students a reason to actually show up” incorrectly spelled Jaya Lundy’s first name.