In terms of school spirit, West Campus used to rival East’s, but the atmosphere changed sometime within the past three years or so. Now, East students participate in fun planned events that West students don’t and interact with faculty in fun, friendly ways. This difference adds to the already unnecessary rivalry between campuses.

Let’s be honest—East and West are the same school split between two buildings. When the freshman move to East, the butting-heads between students will most likely disappear. But, for now, every day provokes a new argument about which campus is better. Although not every argument seems extreme, it has gotten to the point where the two campuses seem like two different schools entirely and has eroded school spirit. Walking into school every single morning shouldn’t make students want to immediately turn around and go home, but for many West Campus students, this is how it feels.

Sure, West does things that East does not. West offers more classes and newer technology. West also hosts most of the after school events that occur throughout the year. However, this doesn’t add up to the events that take place during the school day at East, such as the pep assemblies, which were cancelled at West altogether because students did not care about them. 

The positive relationships East students have with their teachers show a faculty going out of their way to give the students a safe and positive environment—an environment more difficult to find at West. For example, during Homecoming week, East faculty stood outside wearing giant orange inflatable bodysuits to welcome students in. They also decorated the hallways in prettier ways that actually made students excited for the dance. 

That said, West’s student body is the most responsible for its negative atmosphere. West introduced an amazing new project this year called “Start With Hello.” It was created by students to brighten up people’s day and make them happier, but many students still expressed a negative opinion about it. Why? Do people choose to be unhappy just for the sake of being unhappy? Is there a stigma at West that being friendly or participating in school events is cringey? West Campus students need to lighten up so that West can plan exciting events like East does.

There is no superior campus. We should treat West and East equally and plan the same events at both campuses. Also, there should be more events where both two are combined. Once people stop treating East and West like they are different, people will stop acting like one is a better campus than the other simply for brownie points in arguments. MCHS is one derogatory hashtag away from socially separating completely.