Having school spirit is more than just watching peers run around. To Swarm, the spirit club, it’s about enjoying time with friends, supporting their peers and having a good time.

“I think having school spirit is fun,” Swarm leader Clay Crandall said. “It’s about stepping outside of your comfort zone and having a great time. It shows that you’re passionate about something and I’m passionate about supporting my team.

School spirit is about cheering, screaming, chanting, dressing up and everything else that allows a person to be himself. It’s about displaying a person’s true color.

“School spirit is trying to be the odd man out,” senior Swarm member Lucas Reitinger said. “It’s about sticking out and being recognized for who you really are. I believe if you don’t have school spirit, you don’t have a creative school system.”

Wearing Hawaiian shirts, dressing up as other team’s mascots, having a blackout or white out or painting your face is what school spirit means. It’s about being as crazy and radical as you can be.

“Having school spirit is having an idea and just going with it,” Crandall said. “It’s all about what school spirit means to them. If it actually means something to a person, then they’re the biggest fan.”

Nick Kehress, another member of Swarm, also described how students could support the Hornets.

“Anyone who is at every game and cheers their heart out is how anybody could support the Hornets,” Kehress said. “It’s about cheering hard, even when you sometimes lose your voice. And most importantly, it’s about supporting the players and not getting down on them, no matter what the score may be.”

Having school spirit is more than just making a statement, it’s having fun and just being you.

“Go with the craziest idea that pops in your head,” Reitinger said. “Think of it and do it. Just be loud and don’t be afraid to be goofy.”