In a random survey of 100 Morton students, 54 (or 54%) of students dressed up for Morton Spirit Week.
According to Google’s AI Overview, participation in spirit week varies by school. Schools often try to encourage participation through fun competitions, a variety of themed activities, and positive reinforcement like rewards and recognition as well as posting flyers around the school. In addition, organizing inclusive events such as themed dress-up days, talent shows, and classroom-versus-classroom challenges makes the week engaging and helps boost morale. Yet, some students may simply be too busy with other activities to participate. An individual student’s confidence or embarrassment might also influence participation levels. For this reason, many schools will motivate their students to take part in spirit week.
Many students said they chose to participate.
“Yes, I dressed up for Jersey Day and Pajama Day only because I didn’t want to wear a uniform,” said junior Naomi Fierros.
Other students said they wanted the chance to dress more comfortably.
“Yes, I dressed up because I wanted to be out of uniform and dress down, just because what I wear would be way more comfortable than the uniform,” said senior Jesus Mena.
“Yes, only because I wanted to be out of uniform. The uniform colors and style aren’t my personal favorite, which is why I decided to dress down,” said sophomore Alexa Moreno.
“I dressed up because I wanted to wear blue jeans and a white shirt,” said senior Jonathon Perez.
Some students dressed up because they enjoyed the themed days.
“I had planned to dress up and was so excited because I was going to be Pitbull,” said sophomore Daniella Gomez.
“I dressed up for Decades Day because I liked the aesthetic and personally liked how the fashion looks. I also enjoyed how, during this Spirit Week, I was able to express myself with what I wore,” said senior Rodney Simpson.
Several staff members also participated.
“I wore 80’s scrunchies, fishnets, and gloves. They have good taste in music, very upbeat — it reminds me of techno. They sing it with their soul,” said staff member Liana Fernandez.
“Yes, my inspiration was Kurt Cobain, like in the 90s, because I really liked his style. I personally think the 80s was super cool,” said staff member Martin Suarez.
“I dressed up on Friday in Morton spirit wear. I didn’t participate in the rest, although I did wear a Bulls jersey on Jersey Day,” said staff member Jennifer Gomez.
Not everyone chose to dress up.
“No, I didn’t feel like wearing anything. I didn’t know what to wear, I didn’t think ahead of time, so I also wasn’t able to plan for it,” said senior Manuel Lopez.
Some staff also skipped participating.
“I didn’t have time to go down to the bookstore to purchase a spirit shirt. I also already own too many spirit shirts as it is,” said social science teacher Marlo Rohde.
Jocelyn Flores • Nov 18, 2025 at 9:43 am
This article is interesting and I like how students were able to express themselves during spirit week instead of having to wear school uniform. However, something that would make this newspaper better would be adding images of students who did participate in spirit week to give a better idea of just how creative and how many students participated.