Many underclass students may deem that spirit week at Ipswich High School is rigged. This has been an increasingly talked about topic recently at Ipswich High. Now let’s ask, “Why do people think this?” Do seniors consistently win yearly because a higher power intervenes in it?
The conversation that Spirit Week is swayed in favor of the seniors has been a testament to time at Ipswich High School. The teachers certainly know about these theories, and so do the students. Although many of these accusations come from underclass students who lose Spirit Week, we decided to dive deeper into why people might think Spirit Week is rigged. When Spirit Week starts, you might hear some of these views spread, for example,”They just gave extra points to the seniors,” or, “This is so rigged.” You might hear this often during the week if you are a student at Ipswich High School. The senior class has the advantage due to the location for decoration being the lobby (more straightforward to set up due to its smaller size) or the student body being more muscular physically.
There is nothing like Spirit Week during your senior year. It is the final year of high school, and everyone in the graduating class usually comes together as one. Senior Ella Niederhelman says, ”People realize everyone is going their separate ways.” The perfect example of this phenomenon is Spirit Week. Events like dodgeball, where you can feel the sheer ferocity of the crowd behind you, and tug of war, where you are one slip away from losing to a younger class, are the most popular and allow grades to develop “bragging rights. This creates a healthy, intense rivalry between all grades at Ipswich High. The idea of rivalry is what makes Spirit Week so exciting. For one of the last times in your life, you can dress silly and compete with other grades for your grade. People develop a sense of pride during events, allowing everyone to come together as one group.
While it is nearly impossible to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the administration is behind the senior winning streak, there are some undeniable reasons why the seniors may have the upper hand. The senior class’ advantages are the years of experience, increased physical development, and a larger drive to win. English teacher Timothy Sidmore: “I think they have more experience with the Spirit Week events and know how to strategize better. They are more physically capable and usually smarter than the first-year students in many events.” As they progress through the years, seniors pick up on strategies for the events from the previous years, which they can use for themselves. This tactic would suggest that seniors have an advantage over grades.
Along with experience, seniors also grow physically. Seniors being or approaching the age of 18 are near their physical peak. While there, the freshman competition is four years behind developmentally, sways speed, and strength-based competitors like races and tug-of-war are in the senior’s favor. The knowledge of previous years and bodily growth give edge to the seniors.
Spirit Week is a fun way for classes and friends to compete. We really can not determine if the week is” rigged.” We can decide that when it comes to senior year, you want to keep your last spirit week. This creates a sense of urgency for people and allows many groups to unite. We determine that these theories are false and that Spirit Week is not fully rigged.
Recently, the class of 2024 and current seniors have lost to first-year students. This unexpected loss has broken an 18-year streak of seniors winning the overall points. The flop came as a shock to many who believed that Spirit Week was predetermined. Although the loss is “hilarious” to some, this has proven our theory that Spirit Week is not predetermined, but perhaps we knew too much, and the administration had purposely suppressed the seniors in order to prove the rumor false but either way it is nearly impossible to prove that the points have been unfairly swayed to benefit any particular grade.
