Every year, Logansport’s student section has always been loud and full of energy, especially for football, basketball, and soccer. But as the students in the section begin to lessen, the more it begins to diminish.

Take senior Kayla Ortiz, she explained how she also agrees that the student section is diminishing as the years go by.

“I think the student section is getting smaller because fewer students are interested in our athletics. Most kids don’t want to participate and show school spirit because they think it’s embarrassing or dumb,” said Ortiz.

Most students at LHS believe that judgment plays a huge role when it comes to participation in extracurricular activities. When talking to students, they had many responses to this topic.

“Kids, in general, are very judgemental, and some kids are probably afraid of being judged by others. I think this is the reason why our student section is getting smaller. Students should be able to let loose and have fun. That’s what high school is all about,” sophomore Omar Ruiz said.

Cheerleading coach Kaleigh Wilkinson also had a statement about this topic.

“I believe that there is a lot of judging and worrying nowadays that prevents individuals from having personal likes and interests without being criticized; therefore, students are hesitant to be interested in something or attend something that not everyone else wants to be involved in or be seen at,” said Wilkinson.

Others made an argument that the LHS student section has always been loud and crowded with students, but some think that COVID-19 has impacted students in this way and as a result diminished the student section over the past year.

“I might argue that it is getting smaller, but I thought we had a huge student section at our first home football game. Last year, I think we were off because of COVID. I think that there was a lot of disconnect from the kids at school, and maybe there wasn’t as much school spirit since we weren’t able to have Homecoming or pep sessions,” LHS Athletic Director Brain Strong said.

COVID has put students through some of the toughest times this past year, but there have been incredible student sections that current and former students can’t forget. As the years have gone by, LHS has seen so many huge student sections, but some had some opinions of their own.

“I’m an LHS graduate, so of course I’m going to say how each year the Class of 2013 was in high school. We grew up with traditions presented to us like flag running, head-to-toe body paint, funny themes, and just a sense of respect and encouragement towards each other to have fun, work hard as possible, and win,” Wilkinson said.

Some of the current students also shared some of their favorite years in the student section.

“I can’t say anything as I only began to pay attention to the student section last year. In the small amount of time that I’ve paid attention, the best year would have to be last year, 2020-2021 because I had a lot of fun playing with the band and watching the student section go wild whenever we would score a touchdown or win the game,” Ruiz said.

With feedback and improvement, coaches, leaders, etc. can make sure that we meet students’ needs and also hear out some of their ideas to make games more enjoyable and unforgettable.

“I’m always open to hearing students’ ideas, and I would encourage kids to have ideas or thoughts to make the games more fun and interesting. You guys are so incredibly creative, and feedback is always a great thing. This is our school, not the athletes, not the band, but everybody together and we would like for kids to be participants in that,” Strong said.

The new football season has just begun and LHS has many more years of student sections to see grow and have fun making memories that will last, but never leave students’ minds and hearts. LHS has only one football game, and it seems like it is going back to be a normal and incredibly fun season. Make sure to join the student section for future themes and games to cheer on our teams.