By Ellie Porter ’25
There is nothing like athletic competitions and Deerfield Day to awaken the competitive spirit of the Choate community. Color Wars is a new initiative seeking to expand upon that school spirit.
Starting this year, the entire student body will be split into four colors: gold, white, dark blue, and Rosemary blue (the former school color of Rosemary Hall). Director of Student Activities Ms. Alex Long said, “I believe that school spirit is about lifting up the School, and in Color Wars, you’re lifting your team up using Choate colors.”
Color Wars aims to bring school spirit beyond just athletic competitions. Athletic teams, the Student Committee on Programming and Engagement (SCOPE), and the Student Activity Center (SAC) will be hosting events to give each team opportunities to accumulate points and gain a victory over the other color teams.
During Spirit Week, students who dressed up according to the theme of the day were awarded points for their participation, contributing to their team’s score. Themes included Dress Like Barbie/Ken Monday, Twin Tuesday, Western Wednesday, Decades Thursday, and Dress Like Deerfield Friday.
Brecken Cullinan ’24, SCOPE Events Chair, spearheaded the Color Wars initiative. She described it as “a way to foster a little healthy competition and to encourage people to show up for the School.”
Initially, Cullinan had hoped to plan a Field Day, an athletic event held at many schools across the United States. However, because the event takes up a full day, scheduling it into the already-packed school year calendar isn’t feasible. And so, Cullinan hopes to host more smaller-scale events, such as inter-dorm bowling competitions and Powderpuff, instead.
A relatively new initiative with many logistical details still being discussed by organizers, Color Wars has not received much school-wide attention. Students are often caught up in athletic and academic interests and commitments, which limits their ability and time to participate in larger, full-day spirit events. Ms. Long said, “I think the biggest challenge will be getting buy-in from students.”
Color Wars seeks to encourage students to engage more with school spirit events and create a long-lasting tradition that fosters camaraderie and friendly competition.
