“Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!” Jr. Tori Guerrin faces off in a heated battle against Assistant Principal Brent Potts just ten minutes before the end of the day. If she wins, she amasses a total of 47 beads. If she loses, all her beads are stolen, permanently. Needless to say, the stakes are high.

   Various school spirit activities are planned by WO Administration and Senate, but often they don’t take off. For example, the week before spring break, a spirit week was planned, where participation was fairly low. Students were reminded that it was ‘spring into spring’ day on Wednesday, but Instructor Robin Ruby and West Ottawa Secretary Amy Johnson were about the only ones to participate. The rock paper scissors tournament was partly orchestrated by Assistant Principal Lindsay Cherry, and was widely played and talked about. The competition was a huge success.

  Overall, the premise was simple. At any point throughout the day, students were allowed to challenge each other to a rock paper scissors challenge. Whoever won the round got to take all of the other person’s beads. Soon, it became less about the game and more about the beads – students were scheming, trading, even buying their way to the top.

   “The more you won, the more beads you wanted. It was a never ending cycle. It was also fun to see people bargaining with gum or favors too – I even saw somebody give someone straight up cash for beads,” Sr. Arisella Rios said.

   In the end, beads turned into a status symbol. The more beads a person had, the cooler they were. Those who had no beads were sad. Those who had plenty were revered. Sr. Danna Peralta said, “Once I lost all my beads, I didn’t really know what to do with myself.” These beads, a mere 17 cents each, seemed like the most valuable objects in the world for a short time.  In a strange way, these beads, which would become obsolete the next day, were suddenly the unofficial currency of West Ottawa High School.

   “I would describe my experience as thrilling and bittersweet because in one moment you could feel at the top of the competition and the next you could be giving all your hard work away to people who are ruthless!” Peralta said.

   Jr. Tori Guerrin said, “I had 47 beads by the end of the day. It felt really rewarding but kinda gross because all of the beads I had were around other people’s necks all day and it kind of reeked.”

   So why did the challenge work? While other school sponsored events have flopped miserably, this challenge had remarkably high participation. Some students who may not normally be keen on participating in a school sponsored spirit week event could be seen walking through the halls with four or five beads around their neck! Besides being thrilling and engaging, the key to the success may be in its simplicity.

   “I think part of it is we gave the beads to all the kids. They didn’t have to come up with their costumes or whatever they were gonna wear for their dress up day. So the playing field was the same for everyone. 
Everyone started with a bead as long as you were at school,” Cherry said.

   In the end, the tournament was more than a game. It didn’t matter who you were, for one day everyone had a reason to join in, no matter your grade or friend group. It didn’t require costumes or extensive planning, just a willingness to take the risk and get more beads. Maybe that’s the secret: when school spirit feels less like an obligation and more like a game, students don’t just participate – they take over.