Spirit days are a staple of the American public high school experience. However, in most cases, the students have no actual say in what themes they’ll have to adhere to.

The Edwardsville Peer Influence Club is taking the first step to change this unspoken rule.

Unlike student council, EPIC is allowing students to take a vote on what the red ribbon week theme days should be. That makes this year’s week the first of its kind: completely student decided.

The winners were back to the 2000s day, movie and TV show character day, wear red day, celebrity look-alike day and holiday day. Aside from the unchanging wear red Wednesday, a staple of red ribbon week theme days around the country, all themes were democratically chosen by EHS students.

The committee that made this decision, seniors Lexie Freese, Mitchell Heberer and Emilie Sparrow, was tasked with choosing what days the school should dress for. That’s when it hit them: let the students decide and as a result, get them more involved in the week.

Freese says that the decision to include students in the decision-making process was unanimous.

“I wanted students to have some say for what dress-up days we did because it’s not often that students get the decision,” Freese said.

EHS does multiple spirit weeks each school year for many occasions, but EPIC wanted their red ribbon week to stand out to students.

She explained that the purpose of the TigerTally was for students “to be able to express their opinions and choose what days they liked best.”

The committee first had to come up with a list of potential ideas, present them to Dr. Cramsey and work with the ones that he approved, according to Freese.

“We received suggestions from peers and thought about which days would be both fun and appropriate,” said Sparrow.

After the ideas were selected and approved, Mrs. Beck helped the committee to make a Tiger Tally. Once it was made, announcements were made every day in order to get the word out.

Freese thinks it was a success, and rather revolutionary for the school, as 1200 people voted. This is almost half the school — a turnout that no one on the committee had expected.

“I think we accomplished the best we could from the TigerTally. So in my eyes, I think it gave the students the choice. . .” Heberer said. “I think it should be implemented (for all spirit weeks) from now on.”