As students experience campus life differently this year than previous semesters in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, school spirit may not be every student’s first priority.
Many traditions of tailgates before football games and discounts at Shasta’s Cones and More after a winning game have not occurred so far this semester in wake of social distancing, but other traditions like Cougar Red Fridays could still be carried on by students.
“The show must still go on!” said kinesiology senior Kenneth Davis III. “The best thing UH could do with events and traditions was to adapt and they did that.”
Davis used examples of UH’s adaption to the coronavirus pandemic with Week’s of Welcome and the Virtual Involvement Fair.
The Cougar Red Friday tradition has been a way for UH students to show school spirit for many years now.
“Wearing red on Friday is more than just a tradition; it is who we are. We wear red to show our pride and passion for the University. It is our visual identity,” according to the UH history and traditions page.
“The color unites us to live and to celebrate together, and behold our individual achievements as a singular legacy of the pride.”
Other traditions on-campus include a monument to community service, such as the Eternal Flame of Service monument, to recognize every organization and individual at UH who work to serve others. The monument was given to UH from Alpha Phi Omega in 1970.
Davis being a part of organizations such as the orientation team as well as a senator for the Student Government Association shows Cougar pride through the work he does, he said.
“I show UH pride via student advocacy work,” Davis said.
Not physically being at UH, Davis said school spirit used to be contagious because it was all around him, but now there is a physiological shift in the spirit.
“With our school being flexible with our school spirit, it makes it easier for students to participate no matter where they are,” Davis said. “(Although), I’m not rushing from the fountains after rubbing the cougar paw for good luck, I’m not wearing scarlet red on Cougar Red Friday’s attending football games, etc.”