Just like there is more than one ornament on a tree, there is more than one religion in the world.
We at the Bear River Current believe that more than one religious belief should be represented during Winter Spirit Week. There are over 100 religions in the world. Why is there only one holiday being showcased during this Spirit Week? Many students practice Christianity but there are also some that observe other belief systems, such as Judaism. Holidays like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are ignored at Bear River. We think that all Bruins should be able to be represented. We think a diversity of holiday observances could be fun for all Bruins, no matter what their particular beliefs may be.
Principal Amy Besler thinks that religion shouldn’t be a part of a Spirit Week.
“While Spirit Days could incorporate religions other than Christianity, I believe a better direction would be removing the religious references altogether,” she said. “There are countless religions in the world and no reasonable way to refer to each of them through this avenue. I would love for our students to gain insight about our world’s religions, as a component of a comprehensive cultural education in a more meaningful way.”
Students said they believe different religions should be added to a Winter Spirit Week.
“It would be nice to see more of an appreciation for other religions,” said Adri Moses, a senior.
“The problem isn’t that Christianity is showed more, it’s that they don’t show any other religions,” said Viviana Chavez, a senior.
“I think it matters that not all religions are being showed and that only one religion is involved,” said Corinn Blancarte, a sophomore.
ASB President Amanda Potts, a senior, helped make the Spirit Days. She weighed in on the issue.
“I think that we could have involved more religion since it is a holiday season, but I don’t think our play was to exclude any religion,” she said.
Students said they support a change to the Spirit Days.
“They should make like a ‘pick your own religious traditions,’” said Moses.
“I would put more thought into the Spirit Days to try and make everyone happy,” said Blancarte. “They have to consider that there is more than one religion.”
“Maybe ask students what they would like to see in the Spirit Days, like a student poll or something,” suggested Chavez.
Principal Belser and Amanda Potts believe that the Spirit Days shouldn’t cross over into religion and that they don’t have a problem with the existing model.
“I don’t see it as a function of ‘fixing’ Spirit Days — our student leaders develop the themes and concepts and are guided by our Activities Director, Mr. MacDonald,” said Principal Belser. “This is one element of a continuous improvement process. We learn something from each experience and apply it to the next. My role is to help guide the student leaders by asking thoughtful questions and facilitating their reflection and careful consideration. That being said, being a leader comes with making mistakes and being held to a higher level of scrutiny than others. I admire our young people for having the courage to put themselves in that position with the goal of improving our school.”
“We don’t really discuss religion when we are making up the Spirit Days,” said Potts. “We don’t really think of it like that, but next time we are going to be more careful and try not to offend anyone.”
