Hannah Reed is NWIndianaLife.com's #1StudentNWI representative at Lake Central High School. This month, Hannah recaps Spirit Week at the school, which featured a number of different themed dress days and culminated with a win from the football team in the last game ever played at "The Burial Grounds."
Spirit week at Lake Central High School began Monday, Sept. 29 with Pajama Day, and though it began sleepily, the participation from the student body was astounding. After Monday’s Pajama Day was Twin Day, Decades Day, Superhero Day and then the week ended with Blue and White (LC’s school colors) Day.
“My favorite day was Superhero Day because I feel like it was the one day that the most students participated. It was fun to see the different takes on superhero costumes throughout the school,” senior Jennifer Mohamed said.
On Wednesday morning, students donned their finest vintage clothes. Freshmen had the '60s, Sophomores had the ‘70s, Juniors had the ‘80s and Seniors had the ‘90s. Though the students in each grade were given a certain decade to dress up for, many didn’t follow the protocol and decided to deck themselves out in the decade of their choice.
“It took probably only 10 minutes to find everything and decide all I wanted to wear," said senior Michelle Weber. "I had everything already from when I decided to be a hippie for Halloween in eighth grade. I picked [the decade] to make a statement I guess. I didn’t want to be ordinary, I wanted to stand out, and the ‘70s rock."
Each day (excluding Blue and White day) had a winner, chosen on social media, and each winner received a prize. The prize was a $10 gift card to the restaurant of their choice and the glory of being called the ‘winner’ on the LC Twitter (@LCHSNews) and the LC Instagram (@lakecentralnews) for all to see. A panel of teachers selected the Instagram winners, and from there screenshots of the Instagrams were posted to Twitter to start the real voting.
“I decided to hand out the prizes because I wanted to reward the people who had worked hard to create these elaborate costumes. People posted Instagram pictures with the hashtag [#LCHOCO2k14] and tagged @lakecentralnews all throughout the day. The hashtag has almost 500 posts on [Instagram],” senior James Lafakis said.
On Friday morning, students picked through their closets to find the bluest, brightest shirts and pants that they owned. The hallways became seas of all different shades of blue, showcasing LC’s exuberant school spirit. During the school day the clock seemed to tick even slower, but the final drone of the bell sent the students off with newfound excitement for the night.
“Everyone kind of had a certain pep to their step. Knowing that later that day we’d be walking into those [stands] one last time to watch the best team in the DAC really got people into a good mood,” senior Colin Chenoweth, the Indian, said.
After school, students raced home to prepare themselves for the game. A tailgate for students and parents began at 4:30 p.m.
“We had lots of people, I’d say over about 100 students, show up [to the tailgate]. Kyle Hayes (a senior) is the man; he grills for us hungry fans. We basically were all just hanging out, tossing around footballs and having a great time. I think [going] is worth it to be able to enjoy the day with your friends and then go watch a thrilling football game,” senior Nathan Zajac said.
Though the temperature was low, the anticipation was higher than ever when the game, the final one ever at The Burial Grounds, began at 7 p.m.
“The weather was chilly compared to other games, but it was basically perfect Friday night football weather,” Mohamed said.
The cold temperature did not faze the student section; Homecoming’s student section was larger than every other game this season thus far.
“The size of the student section was absolutely phenomenal. Couldn’t ask for a better crowd. The cold didn’t defer anyone and there’s probably a few reasons why. One being it was Homecoming, the second being the last game ever played on the field, and the third is a personal opinion which is the crowd showed up due to the recent success of both the team and the student section,” Chenoweth said.
During halftime, it was announced that senior Emma Hupp was named Homecoming Queen as senior Nicholas Kiepura was named Homecoming King. Four freshmen, six sophomores, eight juniors and ten seniors made up the Homecoming Court.
The Indians played the Chesterton Trojans, and the game ended with a score of 6-0 LC. The night of Homecoming was the last time that the students of LC would be able to be on the Burial Grounds. The demolition of the field began on Monday, Oct. 6. Though the students had to bid a farewell to the field they knew so well, the participation from the students and fans during Homecoming week and at the game made the week of Sept. 29 one to remember.