When I was younger, my brothers and I could climb to the top of our backyard playset and see the Wootton stadium field, filled with students decked out in red, white and blue. Making our way over to the football game, booths would fill the entrance, stocked with merchandise from the Booster Club, the PTSA, the athletics department, the BBQ club and more organizations my elementary school self had never had of. Despite still having a losing football team, this school was deemed as one worth supporting, with students and families alike proudly representing Wootton through their apparel.
Ten years later, a quick glance through the hallways features students in college gear, name brands and the newest trends but few students representing their own, current school. While wearing school merch is not the only way to showcase spirit, if students wanted to do so they have few options, with merchandise being sold only on occasion such as Meet the Coaches nights and random days in the Commons during lunch.
Perhaps the most famous example of this school’s merch is the “Classic Red and Bull” BBQ club T-shirt. Since 2007, the traditional red shirt design has passed through generations of classes, signaling that a student is a true member of the club. “My BBQ shirt is my favorite piece of school merch. I have a lot of sports gear too but the school merch designed by the PTSA is out of style, so when representing my school I always go to my BBQ shirt,” junior Benedict Santos said.
Aside from the BBQ club there are few pieces of school merchandise that are available to all students. Instead apparel is offered specific to clubs and organizations. “I’m a part of SGA and Patriot Ambassadors so I like to wear my SGA jersey and PA quarter zip,” junior Amron Daniel said.
With 27 varsity sports teams, each with their own team stores, sports apparel is also common. “I have played girls’ soccer since my freshman year and my favorite piece of merchandise is my soccer sweatshirt; I wear it all the time,” junior Alex Rabin said.
For staff, the process is different. “Staff are given one free staff shirt each year. We used to all love to wear our shirts every Friday because it was an excuse to dress more casually. Some of the staff who have been here a long time still wear their staff shirts on Fridays, but it has become less of a tradition,” science teacher Jennifer Mockenstrum said.
Even amidst recent incidents, students and staff are hesitant to connect declines in apparel to a change in school spirit. “Since the pandemic, everyone is dressing more casually, so it is less enticing to wear the staff shirts on Friday because we can wear them any day, another factor is that there has been more staff turnover in recent years, and it can take a while at a new school before it feels like home,” Mockenstrum said.
