Every Friday night at the beginning of the school year goes about the same. The bell rings at 2:16 and everyone excitedly scurries off in different directions to their weekend activities, but at 7:00, we are all back at school, packed into the stands. Everyone cheers on the team and enjoys themselves with friends. This is one of the few times that Patriots can all come together in a non-academic setting.

For the rest of the year, Fridays feel a little different. Patriots may still have weekend plan with their friends, but there isn’t the same feeling of unity, and we don’t have a time to socialize outside of our own friend groups. Without this time, Liberty is more separated.

Having less time to socialize among different grades and different friend groups is fun, but more than that, it creates the “We Are One” spirit that fills our minds at the beginning of the year.

So why can’t we have this same feeling with basketball games? It’s true that some of these games happen around the same time as finals, but there are plenty of games to go to throughout the rest of the season.

Coming to these games is also important for the sake of supporting our teams. The football team is not the only one that we should be coming out to cheer for. Having the stands filled with friends and fellow students not only boosts the moral of the team itself, but also for Liberty students in general.

We need to keep this sense of community at liberty around for the entire year. All it would take is going to a few soccer or basketball games, attending a wrestling match or watching the play or musical. We have an incredible energy at school through the beginning of the year. Don’t let it fade away.