School spirit is what keeps students athletes alive and brings the community together. When it comes down to game time, however, some Williston students believe we could do better to support the Wildcats.

During the winter season (24-25), some Williston students reported not attending sporting events or school activities. Instead, they have been opting to stay inside, play video games, watch movies, or sleep more. This lack of participation, however, can affect outcomes on the Williston’s fields, ice, and courts.

Chris Oswitt, a junior, and Varsity Football player, attended Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Mass., before Williston, and thought of school spirit as an extension of the football games.

“School spirit was best seen on Friday nights when all the students would go to the football games,” he said. “The stands would be packed, and our friends would be cheering us on with chants. School spirit was expected of everyone who went to Saint John’s.”

Graham Williams, a senior from Charlestown, Mass., and a Wildcat superfan, thinks school spirit is what brings a community together.

“School spirit means being involved in the school and being proud of your colors and your pride. I think a certain element of school spirit is definitely showing up to games,” he said. “We’re usually pretty good at showing up to games here. But I believe true school spirit is when everyone comes together around the games.”

Graham thinks school spirit can impacting the opposing teams; in rallying his fellow fans to games, he hopes to rattle those taking on the Wildcats.

“I think that compared to other prep schools, I don’t think we have the biggest school spirit. I think that we as a community have a hard time showing up to certain games, and being loud.” he said. “I think we do it well for some sports like football and basketball. But for other sports, like hockey, volleyball, or soccer, we need to come together because those sports are exciting to watch.”

Graham believes he can lead a charge of school spirit since he shows up to many school sporting events.

“I think I have pretty great school spirit, and I think if you ask around campus, I dish out the best chirps to other teams, and I am usually pretty effective,” he said. “Whether I’m behind the glass, leaning over the court, leaning over the rail, I’d like to say I’m top 5 %, top 1% school spirit kind of guy.”

Alyssa Frazier, a senior from Vermont who plays for the Girls Varsity Hockey team, contrary to others, believes Williston has great school spirit.

“I think school spirit is really important for the community in the school and to show each other support,” she said. “I feel like Williston has a lot of school spirit because people go to things that they’ve never done before.

Alyssa recalled a dance concert she went to, where “so many people showed up. So, even if people don’t have big interests in it they’ll still show their support. I try to go to as many games as possible and always go to weekend activities.”

Maya Green, a junior day student, believes it is hard to bridge the gap between on campus activities and day students.

“School spirit means caring about your school, coming to school on the weekends or staying after school hours,” she said. “I think Williston’s school spirit depends on the activity or sporting event.” Maya feels “students care more about hockey, basketball, and football, versus dance.”

Maya claims she has a lot  of school spirit as a day student.

“Yeah, I have school spirit. 100%. As a day student I often show up after school hours and participate in school activities,” she said.

According to Varsity Brands, a study has shown a link between students with school spirit and academic performance.

“Students with higher levels of school spirit perform better academically, are more civically engaged, and are happier in general than their less-spirited peers,” said Varsity Brands, an apparel company. “The research found that students with higher levels of school spirit also have Grade Point Averages and are more likely to plan to further their education than students with lower school spirit.”

AJ Songini, a senior from New Hampshire and a member of the Boys Varsity Hockey team, would much rather stay inside and chill than play glow in the dark dodgeball.

“I didn’t play glow in the dark dodgeball Friday night because the boys had a Saturday night game against a strong well-rounded Berkshire team. With my ankle bothering me all week leading up to the Saturday game, I didn’t feel it was a good idea to participate.” he said. “I feel that when sports teams have games on Saturday, on campus activities are not the best thing for teams to do.”

AJ also thinks he has great school spirit, but has yet to show it in the winter because of hockey conflicts.

“School spirit at my last school played a big part. Coming from a Central Catholic [in Lawrence, Mass.,] which was a large school, our sports teams played public schools from around nearby towns and every game would be packed with students,” he said. “I think Williston has limited school spirit, although it may be accidental because of the scheduling times.

AJ said he would like to support his friends more often, “however, I go to check the Game Day Schedule and we have a game or some conflict.”

Jake Smith, a senior on the Boys Varsity Hockey team and a Wildest Cat, thinks school spirit is based on friends and connections with others.

“School spirit is what keeps students engaged and having fun while in high school,” Jake, from Hadley, Mass,. Said. “It’s people showing up to support their friends and their school. Cheering and truly hoping their school wins. More specifically at Williston, it’s showing up and participating in weekend events and themes on campus.”

Jake thinks Williston ranks fairly against other prep schools, however thinks we need to work on it.

“Compared to other prep schools, Williston has school spirit. Do I think it needs work? Of course. You can always have more school spirit. Our game attendance has gone down the past four years as well as theme participation,” he said.

Other than the ‘Whiteout’ football game and the ‘Pink in the Rink’ for Girls Hockey, attendance is fairly average and something the school needs to work on,” he said.

Being a Wildest Cat, Jake believes he must be a light that can shine on the school community.

“You either have it or you don’t,” he said. “I feel like I have school spirit. I love going to games, rocking the green and blue, and cheering on my classmates. As a Wildest Cat, you have to have school spirit. You bring the energy and the fun to the events on campus. Everyone else feeds off of the ones with the most spirit. You set the bar.”