Some of the long-standing traditions in school, once popular and exciting to the student body, have recently seemed to be declining in interest.

The campus has created different traditions throughout the years that have now become customary for the school, such as the annual blood drive run by Student Congress members and Stay Day, where students get a chance to eat from a variety of food trucks parked around the pond.

In recent years, however, school spirit has been low, with attendance and general enthusiasm for the events that take place on campus dropping, and the sense of community that makes PSHS the school that it is seems to be diminishing.

Pep rallies are meant to bolster Wildcat pride and show support for organizations and teams, such as choir and football. Student and staff leaders try to make the rallies as entertaining as possible, showing off incredible routines from the cheerleaders and drill team. Efforts are also made to engage the audience as well by playing fun games, such as competitions between juniors and seniors. Through these events, students can immerse themselves in a positive and enjoyable environment that holds true to tradition.

However, a large portion of the student body doesn’t even attend. According to a Wildcat Tales Twitter poll, only 51 percent of students attend the pep rallies without being forced to by an organization or a club, with nine percent going because of that requirement. A staggering 40 percent, on the other hand, don’t attend at all, and the fact that the numbers are so close makes it apparent that quite a large portion of students aren’t taking part.

Students can be seen loitering around in the cafeteria or hanging out with their friends outside or escaping to a quiet corner of the campus to do homework. Not many people seem as excited to go to the pep rallies anymore as they once were, and the falling attendance is sad to see considering the fact that they are meant to bring the school together.

School songs are also a huge part of Wildcat history, but they are significantly unknown to most. Aside from organizations like band, where they are required to learn the music, many students keep themselves in the dark, and lacking attendance at the pep rallies isn’t helping, since those are almost the only times the songs are even sung.

Luckily, there are some groups on campus that are starting to rise to the challenge and attempt to keep the spirit alive. The Parent Teacher Student Association, or PTSA, actively works to keep the customs in our school running. They take care of the personalized parking spots for students, sell spirit wear, host community outreaches for fellow Wildcats, and collect funds for student scholarships, among other things.

Another helpful organization would be student congress. This group of students taking initiative helps plan the homecoming and prom dances and orchestrate a multitude of teacher appreciation events, such as the potato luncheon created by their faculty relations department.

This alarming loss of tradition needs to be reversed, because the shared sense of community and family is what this school is all about. Hopefully everyone can work together to keep the culture alive.