Oh, the immense school spirit NYU has. Go NYU! Go Violets! Go Bobcats? Fun fact: The NYU sports team is still known as NYU Violets. The Bobcat was adopted as a mascot in 1984, but this is separate from the Violets. With quite the confusion regarding the mascot, it comes as no surprise that a severe lack of school spirit would follow.

The most school spirit seen on campus? Probably students putting NYU stickers on their laptops and the occasional use of the free swag that was handed out during freshman year Welcome Week (shoutout to the NYU stationery that has replaced the need to go buy anything). Oh, and of course rocking the NYU Class of __ shirt that screams “I just rolled out of bed, so please don’t talk to me” is one of the prime examples of the mediocre way students express their spirit.

“I knew that NYU didn’t have school spirit when I applied,” LS freshman Alice Lammers said. “That’s what everybody warned me about because I went to a high school that had a lot of school spirit. It doesn’t really matter to me because I just don’t really care much.”

Meanwhile Will Schmacker, an LS freshman who is also on the basketball team, said “I like not having a lot of school spirit, but it would be cool if people would go to the basketball games more.”

What about the rest of the NYU student body who have been reaping the benefits of attending this school for over at least a year now? LS sophomore Maria Ortega addressed the lack of spirit, saying it is annoying that there is no unity among students and that no one goes to sports games.

“I don’t even know what the mascot is,” Ortega said. “What is a Violet … or is it the Bobcats?” The lack of school spirit is no secret, but all three students agree they love NYU and being in a city that never disappoints. Showcasing school spirit for NYU is quite different for any other school, but the love that NYU students have for their school is not any less than that of students at state schools that may bleed their school colors 24/7.

As students, rocking a hue of violet just for the sake of representing NYU seems unnecessary, when attending unique classes and priceless school-sponsored events is embedded with school pride. For a school that is not quite conventional, its spirit is out of the ordinary. As a student body, there is a kinship knowing there will be at least one NYU alumnus who has shared the same indescribable experience as you in a city with.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Sept. 25 print edition. Email Liv Chai at [email protected].