Hick day, nerd day and punk day.  These are the sorts of themes that come to mind when spirit week rolls around every year. However the question arises: Do these themes increase the real life use of stereotypes in the school, or are they harmless stunts meant to create a more fun and laid back atmosphere the week before the homecoming dance?  Even if the name of the day does not include a name of a stereotype, nobody can deny the way that some people dress could possibly be seen as offensive. For example ‘Merica Day has turned into more of a redneck day.  Southern PovertyLawCenter addressed this issue in their fall 2013 publication of Teaching Tolerance.  In their view, spirit week is “inviting students to take lightly things that should be taken seriously – stereotypes, slurs and powerful symbols.” Yet schools have spent weeks with “The hope of promoting unity.”   This was written as a response to a student showing up to school in a confederate flag shirt as part of a “redneck day” at the school. While these types of days at the school might bolster school spirit among 95% of students, there might be that 5% of students who take this as offensive.

When asked if spirit week encouraged stereotypes Junior Bradley Caldwell said “I don’t know.” when asked if spirit week encouraged stereotypes, fellow junior Kyle Grimm said “Hardly anyone (dresses up) for it.” Sophomore Derek Coso gave a short “No I don’t” when asked the same question and another quick “No” when asked if he thought anyone was offended by spirit week.  The responses of the students seemed to be rather apathetic about the subject. It seems that Chardon students are not really outwardly affected by these images, but do the images have a subconscious effect?

“Our advice is to consider initiating a dialogue among students about the power of symbols and find ways to bolster school spirit without drawing on divisive stereotypes.”  This excerpt from Teaching Tolerance addresses the issue of offensive stereotypes in school spirit weeks.  However, the responses of Chardon students beg the question whether spirit week has any effect on the psyche of students and their treatment of people portrayed in stereotypes.  Spirit week is a week where people are usually lax and apathetic about serious issues. Therefore, dressing up may seem harmless to most and may not effect the perceptions of the majority of students.  Yet nobody can deny that some of the spirit days do provide a way to poke fun at some groups that are widely stereotyped.  Instead of sponsoring “redneck day” at the school, better choices for a spirit day might be more days like “roll out of bed day”, “superhero day” or “school colors day,” options also discussed in Teaching Tolerance.  These options for spirit week encourage unity without stereotyping and avoid altogether that awkward point where funny meets offensive.