October 21 was Ashland University’s Homecoming, and each year welcomes alumni back to campus. The air on campus is filled with school spirit as alums reminisce about the good old days. This is my third AU Homecoming and I sadly notice there is always a lack of school spirit in the student body.
This year, I was working with the broadcast crew on the football game’s sideline, and I would occasionally look up into the stands through parts of the game to see what it was like to glance up from the sidelines during a game as the players do.
I realized when I looked up, there was a lack of students in the stands, and the energy was low, especially for a homecoming game.
The weather was not the best. It was cold, rainy and overcast, but during most sporting events across the spectrum besides AU sports, there is normally an energy in the air with fans rooting for the home team. Cheering up and down on epic plays, booing the referees for calls against the home team and the moments of intense silence as everyone is on the edge of their seats.
The feeling at the AU homecoming game was the opposite. Students sat silently in the stands with a few moments of cheering, while some slowly left the stadium throughout the game as AU continued to play, and others seemed unaware of what was happening on the field.
The atmosphere did not feel like a homecoming game and there was no AU spirit from the students. No one seemed excited to be at the game as AU defeated the Lake Erie Storm.
It was a disappointing sight to observe and, for a moment, did not make me feel any school spirit.
I am a student who infrequently attends sporting events at AU. I need to do a better job of attending the events, and I understand the pressure of homework, activities, friends and other commitments.
But what if every student on this campus attends one sporting event a month? That’s not much of a time commitment, and the average game or match only lasts 2 to 3 hours.
To me, that is not sacrificing a significant amount of time, and anyone could make the effort to attend a game or match.
If the lack of school spirit on the campus of AU does not change, I believe it will affect student involvement on campus at an even deeper level with continuing the trend of students not showing up to events, such as plays, concerts or guest speakers.
I encourage students across campus to attend at least one AU sporting event during the month of November to create better school spirit on the campus of AU. I know I will.
