With just a single walk around California Baptist University, a guest notices many things: nicely manicured lawns, beautiful class gifts displayed throughout campus and the abundance of beach cruiser bikes and longboards.
Most of those things are on the checklist for many college campuses, but what about school spirit? Is it a dying college tradition? According to some CBU students, the answer is no.
On second glance, though, it does exist here, maybe even more than at most colleges. CBU students have a passionate pride about this campus. They say it with the shirts they wear and the keys they carry.
This was proven last semester when, for Midnight Madness, students camped outside for over 36 hours just to get a free T-shirt as entry into the night’s events. However, wearing this T-shirt shows school spirit.
Next time class begins, take a moment and observe other classmates. Are there any athletes? This is in and out of itself school spirit. Many students come to this school just to play on our sports teams.
“I’d say the biggest thing about school spirit and [being an athlete] is that when we travel to meets, I try to remember that we’re representing what a Christian University looks like to many of the other schools,” Mark Langworthy, junior, said. “I want to be a good representative to other schools of how a Christian should act.”
Many students show their school spirit just by attending games. They may or may not know it, but this is what school spirit is. It is being part of a community and enjoying the time spent within that community for one common purpose.
“One of the most basic ways [to show school spirit] is simply wearing CBU cross-country gear around school, at sporting events and even outside of school,” Hanna Ingulsrud, senior, said. “Also, at cross-country meets individually and as a team, we’re always cheering on our teammates and trying our best to represent the school through our achievements and actions.”
It is clear that sports functions are the classic outlet for students to show school spirit, but what about the CBU stickers on students’ cars? That is yet another outlet to show school spirit. While many students left stickers behind in middle school, they are now neatly placed on back windows, letting the world know they attend a great university.
“My parents were proud of me, so they bought me a sticker for my car. I think it’s cool,” Kelly Hahn, senior, said.
School spirit is shown in ways that are not always thought of as traditional. School spirit is also shown by hanging pictures up of you and your friends. You may not realize it, but those very pictures most likely were taken on campus and will serve as a great reminder once graduated.
Take a walk into the Yeager Center and pass by the Associated Students of California Baptist University office, which offers free goodies. The table by the door is loaded with a school spirit smorgasbord. Pens, I.D. card holders, staplers and highlighters are among them, all with the school’s logo attached.
Many students make huge sacrifices just to attend CBU. By choosing to make those decisions just to be part of the university’s community shows school spirit in the biggest form. For alumna Bonnie Markowitz, showing school spirit meant simply to be educated and share in the learning experience with other college students.
“I feel my school spirit come down to a feeling of pride,” Markowitz said. “I feel proud to have received a degree from a well-known university. My sister is almost done with her degree at CBU. We are the first members of our family to have the opportunity to graduate from college, and to share the alumni status with her makes our family have a legacy that never before existed.”
School spirit takes on many forms. With homecoming just around the corner, make sure to show school spirit in one way or another. CBU students have pride as Lancers. Many call CBU home, and it shows. Whether they realized it or not, they have school spirit.
