Introverts for School Spirit Club Cancelled

Last fall saw one of Lewis & Clark’s most popular home football games of the “Early November” to “Slightly Later November” 2018 season. The stands were packed with Pios, all showing their support through their loud cheers and jeers, except for one. Zack Morris ’22 loved the idea of supporting his school, but he felt held back by everyone else, being there, doing the same thing.

“There were just so many people there yelling and jumping and stuff,” Morris said. “I mean, I love that they were having fun, great for them, but it just made me wish there was like … a quiet game. Or a tighter limit on how many people could be there.”

And that got Morris wondering: why could he not promote his school, but in a calmer way that did not draw any attention or exert social energy?

“At first I thought, ‘well, why do I not wear my LC hat around?’ But then I realized: was MLK content with just wearing a hat that said ‘civil rights?’ No! He went out and fought for it, and also wore his hat!”

With that, Morris decided to start the Introverts for School Spirit (ISS) club. He recruited two friends and fellow introverts, Nora Dorris ’22 and Avignon Gorris-Stevens ’21, to help lead, although they immediately found an obstacle in gathering other members. They first tried recruiting at the Pio Fair in early September. They managed to get everything set up, but at exactly 3:50 p.m., all three leaders emailed each other separately to cancel. Allegedly, they all had “some kind of cold or flu or something.” (This quote appeared verbatim in each email.)

Gorris-Stevens, the only one to see the emails sent by the other leaders, managed to get a sign-up sheet to the table midway through the event. She then promptly left. 

 “I had to leave,” she said. “I might have been contagious or something.” 

Though there was no one at the booth representing the club, the club still gained three new members. Hoping still to attract more, they tried telling everyone they knew about the club in hopes it would grow via word of mouth.

 “We really did tell everyone we could, but for some reason, the message was not getting through,” said Morris.

With chances of further growth appearing slim, the leadership decided to cut their losses and hold a meeting with what they had. That, too, was a failure.

 “One kid walked up to our table, saw it was just us three, and left,” Dorris said. “Honestly, I don’t know if she was there for ISS since I have never actually seen or heard from any of the members. It still hurt, though.”

Morris, still hopelessly attached to the idea, tried to keep the club alive.

“I did everything. I sent out a million club emails, I tried starting a group text and I even emailed each person individually asking them to come,” Morris said. “I never got a single response.” With no change in activity, Morris officially abandoned the club.

“I do not regret it,” Morris said. “I learned my lesson: ‘know your target audience.’ That is something I am taking into my next club, ‘Career Paths for Theater Majors.’”