"In the fall semester, we have Sarah Wilson Week, however, in the spring semester, we don’t have anything. So the Resident Assistants (RAs) decided to have spirit week to help others get involved and have fun," said Stephanie Greaney ‘12, who was in charge of Spirit Week. She expected that if people noticed others participating, people would like to join the fun the next day. She wanted to get students involved and have a chain reaction encouraging others to join.
Low student participation for the first Spirit Week
However, many students did not participate. "I think only a few people participated in it, probably because they were so busy with classes," says Renee Angely ‘12.
Spirit Week on other campuses
Other private women’s colleges, such as Cedar Crest College, located in Allentown, Pa. have Spirit Week and Days which include bowling, road trips, luncheons with the president and Trivial Pursuit contests. It is not individually oriented, but it is about having fun together, unlike Wilson’s spirit week.
RAs made programs with twin day on Monday, superhero day on Tuesday, crazy hair day on Wednesday, sports day on Thursday, odd and even day on Friday, white out day on Saturday and blue out day on Sunday.
Students who participated had fun, but most did not participate every day of the event.
Trying to get Spirit Week off the ground
"I participated in Spirit Week except for two days. I did it in high school and had fun, so my roommates and I thought it would be fun to do it again. However, I had a lot of things to do. That’s why on some days I could not focus on my hair and clothes," says Caitlin Wood ‘15.
Rachael Clawson ‘13, who did not participate, said, "It was a good bonding experience. However, it can be a challenge to find the clothes. So, instead of just dressing up, having activities with other people would be better. I mean, it was self-involved, but I suggest doing it with other people."
Amanda Clark ‘14, a commuter, said "I did not participate in it because I was not aware of it until I came to school. Whenever I got dressed in the morning, I forgot it." She added that if the school sends out flyers or reminders, it would help more students want to participate.
"Students would be familiar with spirit week because most public school systems in the U.S have it during their school homecoming week." said Director of Residence Life Sherri Sadowski.