Students encouraged to flaunt relationship status through homecoming spirit week theme.
September 14, 2022
Blasting from school speakers for the first two-minute passing period bell of the day was the song ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé. This solidified the spirit week theme of the day which was stoplight day. As with any other spirit day theme, stoplight day had fashion parameters for participation. The instruction was simple: wear red, green or yellow clothing based on the student’s current relationship status. In this dress code, red equates to being off the market, yellow implies that the individual has something going on romantically but has no idea what it is and green dictates that the person is single and absolutely ready to mingle.
How the theme of the day affected the school did not go unnoticed by students. Usually, spirit days involve dressing up in a humorous manner, not displaying a private aspect of your life to your peers. The showcase of students’ relationship status had a mixed response among the student body.
“I think it had a complicated effect [on the school],” sophomore Carter Eloms said. “Some people have a crazy situation going on, or maybe they’re trapped in a relationship that they don’t want to be in. Some people are protesting it by not wearing the colors at all, or some people are wearing all the colors. I think it all depends on how you see [the day] yourself.”
For some, the concept was more lighthearted and didn’t require much thought on what color to wear. For such students, the spirit week theme was similar to other themes, a day where you just happen to dress a certain way.
“[Green is] a color I wear every day, but it’s funny,” junior Olivia Flanagan said. “It’s like [saying], ‘I’m single. What about it?’”
Not everyone at the school had such an easy decision to make when choosing their outfit. For those that fit into the yellow category, the decision was more complicated than the color lets on.
“I chose to wear yellow because I didn’t want to put pressure on the person I’m talking to, to say that they’re in a relationship,” Eloms said. “At the same time, I don’t wanna dismiss their feelings or my feelings, so I felt like that’s the most respectful way to go about it.”
This spirit day differs substantially from others due to the personal element it brings in, which has made students pose the question of whether it is an appropriate theme, seeing as how it interconnects a person’s school life with their personal, romantic life.
“I would say [the theme is] school appropriate,” senior Preston Banasiak said. “I think some people feel more uncomfortable than other days, but I do think [the theme is] still appropriate.”
Despite the differences from other spirit days, this theme still accomplished the goal of entertaining the student body.
“I think it’s more of a funny situation because when you’re walking through the hallway, you see people wearing yellow or green or red,” Banasiak said. “ But it’s kind of surprising to see some people wearing certain colors.”
Emerson Elledge is a senior. She spends far too much time on her IB classes and wears too much jewelry. Her hobbies include studying philosophy, writing...
Madelyn Lerew is a senior at Fishers High School. She is a drum major for the marching band and enjoys hanging out with her friends.
