Editorial Board: Community

With more than 2,327 students, we are one of the largest high schools in the St. Louis area and some may claim because of this, one of the most disconnected. Yet, these past two weeks have shown when it comes to supporting one another, our strength in numbers only amplifies our unity as Mustangs.

For the past two weeks, the football and cheerleading teams have been selling Playoff shirts to raise money for Jennifer Shipp, language arts teacher, as she battles cancer for the fourth time. As of Nov. 11, we raised more than $6,000 through t-shirt sales and football game donations.

Additional money is being collected through multiple online fundraising sites and cards are being sent to Shipp with best wishes. 

Students and staff are continuing to plan fundraisers for the future. 

For more than 2,327 people to come together for one individual in need is a testament to the community we have cultivated at MHS. 

With a large student body like ours it is likely many haven’t met Shipp but the fact that so many contributed for yet another school spirit shirt in return shows how our $5 bills can add up to something meaningful when put together. But more than that, they show that compassion has become synonymous with school spirit.

Aside from supporting Shipp and our football team, the Playoff shirts are also helping students in need. Teachers had the option to donate money, essentially purchasing shirts that will be given to students who could otherwise not afford them. 

This initiative has three separate positive impacts and is an incredible example of MHS’ interconnectedness. 

We applaud student groups that remind us that true Mustang spirit isn’t about limiting the possibilities and energy to the walls of our school, but involving ourselves in the community. One such group is Student Council joining forces with Lindbergh High School’s Student Council, where Shipp’s husband works, to plan a restaurant night competition.

These efforts along with those regular ones of Breakfast Club and Krafts 4 Kids show us the value of finding a small home within our large school containing 69 student activities and clubs. Together with our peers we can make an impact outside of MHS.

Even when we are not united as one collective, the works of our smaller communities add up to a much larger social impact. 

Community is about bettering one another and bettering the world around us together and that is exactly what we’ve done this year. Being a Mustang is more than going to school and playing sports on a team. It is about being a part of the collective spirit of our community and showing how our large size only means our impact is that much stronger. 

Without a doubt, we all have our differences. But being a part of a community means coming together to contribute, not in spite of our divisions, but because of them. Because whatever we are trying to achieve means more than that.