Commuter students wear their pride on the inside
When I hear the words “school spirit” I think of a football stadium full of students with painted bodies and faces. I envision huge masses of screaming people bleeding their school colors. When I think of school spirit at UHCL, a much different picture comes to mind.
Because UHCL doesn’t have any collegiate sports teams, we don’t have any school rivalries, which would normally fuel school spirit. Do we even have a school fight song?
Without collegiate sports, the tailgating culture that is prevalent in so many big college towns, isn’t a thing here. It is definitely more challenging to have school spirit without being able to unite together as a student body to root for the home team.
What even constitutes having school spirit? Is it wearing your school’s colors? Is it owning countless shirts, sweaters, mugs, pens, buttons, etc. with your school’s name on it? Or is it being involved in 15 clubs and every single on-campus event? It could be any combination of those scenarios, but school spirit doesn’t have to be that obvious.
I’ve never once worn blue or green on “Blue and Green Wednesdays,” at least not intentionally, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my school, because I do. Students at UHCL show school spirit in different ways. Student organizations are always staked out in the atria promoting their organizations by selling baked goods, corn in a cup or some other edible deliciousness. Students participate in events like the Chili Cook-Off and I Heart UHCL Day, which both encourage excitement and involvement.
Because UHCL is a commuter college, most of the students here aren’t typical students straight out of high school and looking for the whole college experience including dorm life, roommates and Greek life. If students at UHCL want to experience dorm life, the closest they can get to it is the University Forest Apartments on campus.
Commuter students don’t have the instant camaraderie that comes with on-campus living, and those who attend UHCL traditionally haven’t enrolled here for the social aspect and extracurriculars. Instead, they are here to attend their classes and get back home to their families or jobs.
Sure, UHCL students will attend classes, take some notes, chat with some people in class, and join a few clubs, but oftentimes they feel they can’t add on any extra commitments and responsibilities to their already jam-packed schedule. How can students juggle papers, exams, projects, relationships, friendships, jobs, spouses, children, and school spirit? It can be challenging for sure.
During my second semester at UHCL, I joined the organization Communication & Digital Media Association which has greatly increased my involvement and awareness of the fun things going on around campus. I’ve made friendships and connections with people I might not have met in class.
In the fall of 2014, UHCL became a four-year university, which has certainly brought a different feel to the campus. The school demographics are changing and eventually UHCL will be fully integrated to accommodate students with dorms, recreation center and a full service cafeteria. A sports stadium and performing arts are not in our foreseeable future, but we’re getting there.
It takes more effort to show school spirit at a commuter college, but it’s not impossible. From my experiences so far at UHCL, I’ve seen that school spirit can be shown in many ways, some noticeable and others less so. Either way, students don’t have to be part of a pumped up game day crowd to show their love for their school; it’s a sense of pride that you carry with you. School spirit is alive and well at UHCL.
Good job girl!
Classes can have true school spirit or a sense of esprit d’class within the group taking a class together. These create some of the best aha teaching moments for the profs!