Something this year struck me about the Spirit Week skits. It may have been because I was in one for the first time or because I just happened to notice it more clearly, but the skits don’t improve school spirit for all people.

The skits tend to make fun of the grades above and below them – that’s all it is. Poking fun. But when does poking fun become not so fun? My answer to that: when individuals are made fun off. Sure it may get a few laughs or cheers from the audience, but what does that specific person feel when they see the portrayal of what people think about them? Is it still funny for them, or do they feel ashamed, embarrassed and self-conscious? After participating for the first time in a skit, I was finally able to see which characters represented which people in different grades. At first I laughed and thought, “Oh, this is funny.” But when the time came to actually perform the skit, and the lines were said and the actions done, I realized that I had been horribly mistaken.

Many teachers have expressed the shock they felt when they saw skits that called out specific people, especially in the junior skit. There comes a line between poking fun and targeting, and that line was crossed during the skits. I, for one, agree with the teachers who have expressed this feeling. Spirit skits are not supposed to target people. They are supposed to make people laugh through jokes or humor that do not insult people.

The whole purpose of the skits is to improve the student morale and get people excited about being part of an inclusive student community. If this is the purpose, then making fun of individuals goes completely against the definition of Spirit Week. Making fun of whole grades is one thing. It is not directed at any one person or small group of people. But when one person is singled out, the whole purpose of skits is lost. Some people may be able to let the jokes roll off their backs, but many people are so insecure and concerned with what people think about them that they cannot. If one or two people feel bad about themselves because of something somebody else said during the skits, then the skits are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is improving the spirit of the entire student body.