Staff Editorial | The Chronicle
Mason High School (MHS) has over 3,000 students in its halls, yet compared to the population, few show up for athletics, fundraisers and drama performances. Cross country meets, choir seasonal performances and even the National Honors Society (NHS) fashion show have proved dwindling attendance in recent years. For each big event of the school year, MHS has a repeated scene. A lit up stage, a primed field of players, but a measly student section. We love to advertise school spirit and Comet Culture, but when it comes down to it, is it really there?
Cracks have been growing in our community. This individualistic culture has overpowered students’ desire to support their peers. Friday night lights, traditionally a staple for many high school students, hasn’t drawn the same crowds as years past. This is a trend across the board.
Mason culture needs to be reevaluated to truly build a well-rounded student and community. Each grade of students should not be filled with individual bubbles, but rather be a collective class that genuinely makes this big school feel smaller by showing compassion to support one another. High school achievement shouldn’t be measured by the number of advanced courses someone can stack on their transcript, but by how we intentionally engage with our peers sitting in the desk next to us.
Blackhole attendance is down, not because of the leadership or lack of rivalry games, but simply because students aren’t supporting students. Students aren’t deliberately choosing to be selfish and consciously push aside their peers’ activities, rather, this trend is an impact of the norms in place in our community. Clubs and athletics are struggling to find ways to engage students in their events, because students are overwhelmed with events of their own. The mentality that has crept in for many students is that being a notable Mason high schooler means having every moment of their schedule jam-packed with rigor, leaving no room for community building and supporting peers at extracurricular events.
The district has put an emphasis on building the community; however, culture hasn’t shifted away from expecting every student’s schedule to be full. A quintessential highlight of high school life is being able to watch your classmates under Friday night lights or engaging in fundraisers. Now, due to this shift toward individualistic mindsets and packed agendas, NHS has to come up with new fundraisers to help students with prom tickets, because standard community building isn’t rallying support how it did in the past. We are working against ourselves, filling every hour to the brim while setting aside important memories we could be making over these four years.
At the same time, it is just as much the students’ fault for these bubbles being formed as it is the collective culture’s. As students, at times we have allowed self-preservation and prioritization to morph into apathy. It takes two hours or less to join the Blackhole and fill the bleachers for a football or soccer game, ninety minutes to watch a drama production, and a few dollars to help your peers make foundational memories at prom. Supporting our classmates isn’t a distraction from our personal goals; it is the foundation of a functional community.
It is time to decide what high school experience we actually want. A lot of the time, it can be easier just to send a quick good luck message than to actually show up to support. Most people have hours of homework every night and can’t fit going to watch a friend into their schedule. The competitive culture at Mason encourages rigorous courses, club participation and leadership. Balancing your friendships and future creates a difficult decision for many students that causes them to miss making memories. But if we want to practice what we preach, we should choose to step out of our schedules and show up for the athletes, the actors, the musicians and each other. The lights are on, and the stands are empty. It’s time to fill them.
