It’s a Menlo tradition: annually in late October, Upper School students show up to the Homecoming football game decked out in T-shirts assigned to their respective grade levels, each with its own unique theme. However, this year, there has been an ongoing discussion about whether or not Homecoming T-shirts should be provided. Ultimately, Upper School students were able to pick up T-shirts from a lunch handout on Oct. 17, but Homecoming T-shirts weren’t always going to be provided by the school.

Freshman Class co-Dean and history teacher Sabahat Adil connects the initial choice to move away from these T-shirts with Menlo’s evolving emphasis on sustainable practices. “I think with the shirts and with other things too — like even water bottles in the past, at dances, maybe we used to have water bottles but now it’s ‘bring your own’ — […] Student Life is thinking about how [we can] make spirit week more sustainable for everyone,” Adil said. 

In particular, the frequent distribution of T-shirts during the school year raises concerns about the sustainability of this practice. “I think one question that people [and] the Student Life team had was like, ‘How often do people wear these t-shirts? Is it that people wear them during the spirit week and don’t really wear them again?’” Adil said. 

Freshman Class co-Dean and Educational Technology Lead Dayna Frank highlights a similar concern about potential waste, noting that these shirts are often temporary and, in most cases, rarely worn. “It’s a lot of money and a lot of waste for, possibly, shirts that, for a good chunk of students and adults, they only wear for one day,” Frank said. “Some students, we notice, will [even] change out of their shirts at the football game.”

Another obstacle that may have spurred the conversation to discontinue Homecoming shirts is student engagement. “Historically in the past, every grade level had designed their own grade level shirt and float and dance. We’ve just seen a lot of decline in class participation [in designing Homecoming themes],” Frank said. “We [also] have to order the shirts in advance, and the hard part was finding a student to take leadership in designing the shirts.” 

Despite these uncertainties, the Homecoming T-shirts will remain for at least this year. Adil believes that Menlo’s decision to stay with the shirts is partially due to the timing. “I think with anything, you don’t want to [all of a sudden] impose a decision on the people who are going to be the most impacted by it,” she said.

Furthermore, student feedback on the matter also contributed to its continuation. “The student council mentioned, and we listened, that [they] really wanted the shirts and it really bonded the class,” Frank said. From her perspective, the Student Life team excels at hearing and listening to student voices and thus were supportive in their decision. Adil agrees with Frank’s views. “If we need student buy-in for something, we should allow enough time for that, instead of [saying that] we have decided or imposed a decision,” she said.

Another factor Student Life may consider is delaying the pivot away from Homecoming T-shirts — either implementing it in future years or allowing more time for discussions with student council. However, no plans are set in stone about the permanence of Homecoming shirts, and there will likely be time for reflection on the topic after this year’s spirit week. 

Above all, Frank is looking forward to seeing the alternatives that may potentially substitute Homecoming shirts down the road. One possible solution Frank proposes is that if the T-shirt tradition was kept up, they should be designed with a certain color scheme that reflects Menlo’s colors. This would encourage students to wear them more often to reduce overall waste. “I loved the color day [on Oct. 14] and I felt like there was so much school spirit. I would love to see that day at the football game,” Frank said. “That theme especially is so public facing because we have a visiting school — what’s better than having a whole side of the bleachers decked out in the school colors?”