This week, students brought back fashion trends from the 70s and 80s on Wayback Wednesday and donned pastel sweaters and polos on Preppy Day. These dress-up days are just two of the six themed days held during the annual Spirit Week.
Spirit Week, the week leading up to Taft Day, began on November 4. Each day of the week features a different theme. This year’s themes are Secret Dorm Day, Preppy Day, Wayback Wednesday, Twin Day, Dress like Taft Day, and Blue and White day. Throughout Spirit Week, students decorate the main hallway with banners, posters, streamers, and psych cards.
The planning of Taft Day and Spirit Week started in September. Ivy Bhandari ’21, a Blue & White head, said, “Right when we get to school, we start thinking about new themes we want to have, and we hold meetings with the administration regarding psych cards, t-shirts, and what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
Planning requires the heads of Blue & White to work closely with the Dean’s Wing and Student Activities. The Student Activities Office, in tandem with Blue & White, has been building a cardboard Rhino to be burnt in the bonfire on Friday night, creating posters and banners to decorate campus, designing a T-shirt, and purchasing crowd accessories such as thunder sticks and other noisemakers.
Blue & White was in charge of deciding upon themes for each day. They took feedback from students and faculty after the previous year’s Spirit Week to see how the community reacted to different themes. Bhandari said, “[Last year], we knew that America day wasn’t a huge favorite and that not that many kids went all out for Clash day.”
This year, America day and Clash day have been replaced by Secret Dorm day and Wayback Wednesday, respectively. These new Spirit Week themes will allow students to get creative with their outfits. Aleema Kelly ’22 said, “[One of my favorite parts of Spirit Week] is seeing what everybody comes up with and dresses as [on different days].”
Psych cards, a Spirit Week tradition, are funny statements and pictures created by students to hype the community up for Taft day. Last year, psych cards were a major point of contention between the administration and students, because administrators wanted psych cards to be approved by Blue & White before being put up in the hallway.
This year, rules have been changed so that any psych card can be hung up, as long as it has its creator’s name on it. Bhandari said, “[The administrators] have a lot of trust in us, which I don’t think we had last year, so [Taft Day and Spirit Week] will be a lot more fun and spirited.”
Last year, Taft Day was held at Taft, but since the location alternates each year, it will be at home on familiar ground this year. Tomorrow, Friday, November 8, is Dress Like Taft Day.