October is the time of year when ASB students begin preparation for the year’s Homecoming festivities.
When asked about the process of choosing the themes, ASB President, QUEST senior Stephanie Chau says, “It’s a little bit more complex than some students may think. I believe that most students believe that ASB executives have “full” or “more say” when it comes to picking themes, but in reality, it is a majority-rules-all voting.”
The process begins during 4th and 6th period (the two class periods available for ASB), where around 100 ASB members are divided into groups to come up with a list of spirit days that fit the yearly theme, with this year’s theme being “Game On!”. The ideas are then pitched to the entire ASB group and voting takes place. ASB members must determine whether an idea is feasible for the majority of the student body and what is believed to be the most enjoyable, memorable, and fun for all students. Eventually, the themes are narrowed down to the remaining four, one for each day of the week.
“Sometimes, themes can be difficult to decide [on] because there are many different things to consider when thinking about the school as a whole. In the end, it is a democratic vote for the themes, where even the ASB executives have as much power as any other ASB student leader,” Chau concludes.
Many students assume that these themes are chosen by one person, but in reality, a lot of careful thought by every ASB member, no matter their position, is put into deciding the themes for Homecoming.
Samantha Garcia • Nov 20, 2025 at 1:58 pm
After reading this article, I found it was very interesting that the voting for the spirit days is held by all of ASB, from freshmen to seniors. However, I am still left with some questions. For example, it would be a good idea for Aguilar to explain the processes of actually creating the themes. Is everyone in ASB allowed to pitch ideas, or is that job left to only the executives? I also believe that incorporating a retelling of the voting could be very interesting and would catch many readers’ attention. I feel that more people would be interested in the voting itself, instead of the fact that the voting process is considered a majority-rule voting. For example, people are more interested in answers to questions like, “What were the other options?”, “Was the voting close?”, “Were there any arguments, or did people just follow the herd?”. I believe that these ideas could have elevated the article and made it more appealing to Aguliars’ audience. In addition, because these questions are still left unanswered, they could still be used for another interesting article. This would allow students to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of the ideas for Spirit Week, and could interest other students in joining the program.
Sienna Meade • Nov 18, 2025 at 1:22 pm
I have always been curious about how ASB decides to choose the dress up days, which is why this article caught my eye. I used to think that it was just a few teachers who would decide, and then ASB would make the posters and get people excited to do the dress up days. However, this gave me a new perspective on how there are 100 students that get to vote on ideas that are relevant to Millikan as a whole. I loved how straightforward the article was and it got to the point that there is a lot of time and effort involved in deciding the spirit days, and actually voting for which ones to choose. Now I am able to understand better, as someone who is not a part of ASB, how certain things at Millikan are chosen to benefit the entire school.
Kailey Ortiz • Nov 18, 2025 at 12:02 pm
On November 4, 2025, Sofia Aguilar wrote an article titled “How Does ASB Decide on Spirit Day’s?” As someone who loves dressing out for spirit days, every year as spirit week rolls around, I always wonder what goes on behind the scenes of the work that goes into choosing the spirit day themes. The explanation of the voting process and the quotes from ASB President Stephanie Chau were very helpful in clarifying the misconception that they make all the decisions themselves. The article does a great job of giving the reader insight and highlighting how collaborative and democratic the process really is. We are able to see that this voting process is so much more than one person’s opinion, but instead it’s the collaboration of many people’s ideas in order to create these themes.
One point of concern I had was that not many students seem aware of how much thought goes into choosing themes, and this misunderstanding might cause unnecessary criticism toward ASB. A suggestion I have is for future articles or ASB announcements to show examples of early brainstorming ideas so students can better appreciate the work that goes into narrowing down the options.
Overall, the article was informative and engaging, and it definitely gave me a new appreciation for ASB’s efforts in all that they do for our school.
Sadie Albert • Nov 18, 2025 at 9:56 am
I recently read this article while exploring the Corydon and feel as though I must praise the topic and Aguilar’s execution. This wonderful article gave me what felt like a sneak peek behind the curtains into the world of ASB. I feel as though ASB is such a prominent part of our school’s culture but I hardly know anything about it or how it works. What I previously thought was controlled by maybe a handful of people is actually discussed and voted on by more than one hundred students. This article made me realize that ASB is actually a very democratic class and my voice is being heard. In addition, Aguilar did a very good job actually writing this article. It is a very easy read but still very informational. To add on, Aguilar chose someone who is very credible to quote showing that she did her research and established her ethos. Her quotes are thorough and she does a great job explaining them. Overall Aguilar did an excellent job on this article and I am excited to read her next one.
Lola Alonso • Nov 18, 2025 at 9:40 am
As a junior at Millikan I have been through many spirit days and dress up days and it makes me wonder who picks these themes. I always thought it was Mr. Robinson or administrative staff who picks. Although it was really interesting to hear about how the themes are well thought and bring around 100 members ideas in. All participants are ASB students who have a big part and are all able to help make a decision. I also wonder why we have repeating themes or simple ones. Now reading I can understand how it is easier to get 100 people to agree on a simple theme than something out of the ordinary. This article is very interesting because I believe it would encourage students to join ASB because they would have opportunities to have more of a say in our school. Aguilar’s article is very detailed and I love how it breaks down the process for students to understand the thought and time that goes into our spirit days. Overall, I think the topic is engaging, well written, and provides much well researched.
Caius Moore • Nov 18, 2025 at 9:36 am
I found this article very informative and helpful, as it explains a part of ASB that many students do not understand. Being a part of ASB myself, many friends commonly ask me, “Why did you choose this spirit day?” Each time, I need to explain that it is a collective, democratic vote by every ASB student leader. Aguilar helps explain just that, spirit days are not chosen by any one person. They are voted on by the entirety of ASB and are thoroughly thought out. Additionally, I found that quoting ASB President Stephanie Chau within the article enhanced its credibility and reliability when reading. As Aguilar quotes, Chau expresses the amount of time and thought that goes into choosing all Spirit Day themes. Each student within the school needs to be considered to make Spirit Week enjoyable for all.
Sarah • Nov 17, 2025 at 1:47 pm
The article did a great job explaining the process that ASB goes through to select themes for spirit weeks. An abundance of ethos was used, interviewing an ASB participant and provided an inside scoop of ASB systems. It was interesting to read about how themes are created and voted upon because as a student, I hear praises and some scrutiny of the spirit day themes. Some additional information could have been provided on themes for this year, to provide readers with examples of said spirit days. I appreciate the image used in the article, displaying some ASB work that was used around campus to provide a visual of the fun, brightening decor that is usually put up by ASB. Ultimately, this is a fun article to read, and a useful look at how school-wide spirit days are created, elected, and selected.
Brooke Brown • Nov 17, 2025 at 1:44 pm
On November 4, 2025, Sofia Aguilar wrote an article titled “How Does ASB Decide on Spirit Days?”. I am a junior who has seen many days where students get to dress up based on a theme picked by ASB. When reading this article, I was shocked to find out that the decision was “…majority-rules-all voting” and that an ASB executive holds as much power as any other ASB student leader. I have always assumed that the ASB executives were the main group that contributed to the spirit days. So, finding out that all people in ASB were allowed to share their opinions was interesting news.
I like how you included two quotes spoken by Stephanie Chau to support your claim. This provides insight into how ASB votes for Millikan’s spirit days. Furthermore, it’s a great idea to use ethos by noting that Chau is an ASB President QUEST senior. By doing this, you lend credibility to your article and allow readers to rely on the evidence you incorporated.
I suggest that you add a quote from someone who isn’t a president, like an ASB student leader. Within your article, you addressed that student leaders have the same amount of power (when it comes to voting on the theme for spirit days) as an ASB executive. By adding a quote from a student leader, you can further support your claim and eliminate bias in your article.
Ivy Estrada • Nov 17, 2025 at 1:31 pm
Personally, I love dressing up for the spirit days as they ignite school spirit and make school fun to go to for the day. Preparing is also a really fun part of the spirit days, so I was really interested in your article to see how it came to be! I love how you added direct ideas from the President of ASB in your article. I was intrigued to learn that the themes weren’t merely decided on by one person, but democratically, regardless of your position in ASB. I think that’s amazing considering that many perspectives are considered when deciding for dress-up days. Adding on the Stephanie Chau’s experience with choosing the themes, I was wondering what exactly ASB considers when picking the dress-up day? I would be really interested in learning about what they have to consider to ensure the fun and safety of students. I have always been curious about what ASB does to ensure most people have the resources to dress up for the theme (such as simple themes so everyone can do them easily). Overall, I really enjoyed the deep dive into how ASB makes spirit days fun for everyone on campus!
Victoria Hijazi • Nov 17, 2025 at 1:29 pm
In her article, she explains how the whole decision making process works for ASB spirit days. I really liked reading her point of view because she was honest about how it’s not as simple as some students might think. As an ASB student myself, I agreed with almost everything she said. The details she added about Periods 4 and 6 working together to come up with themes and ideas were completely true. Sofia gave a really clear and interesting perspective that made the article fun and easy to read. I could tell she put a lot of effort into explaining something people are always curious about, and I really appreciate that.
For future articles, it might be cool to go a little deeper into how spirit day ideas get approved and who they have to go through. I think more students would understand the process if they knew how many steps and people are involved. Overall, Sofia did a great job showing that ASB really does want spirit days to be enjoyable, memorable, and something everyone can look forward to. She explained everything in a way that felt real and relatable, and I think she did an amazing job with this article.
william sok • Nov 17, 2025 at 1:19 pm
This article gave useful insight to the inner workings of ASB and how decisions are being made higher up. This is useful because it provides a way for students to understand and be more considerate towards the team at ASB. At times, the themes may not be to everyone’s tastes, and having this article published will help to quell these frustrations.
Something that could be added to this article is an explanation of the theme of the school year and how that is chosen and connected to the themes of the year. This will allow readers to have a better understanding of the available choices and limitations that ASB has when choosing themes. Additionally, it will also give readers a sense of what kind of themes that they can expect throughout the year.
In short, this article gave an informative commentary of how and why the decisions for spirit days are made. As it is now, the article is effective in achieving this goal, however, by adding a few supplementary details to help elaborate certain aspects of the decision making, the article could be greatly expanded.
Atiana Avila • Nov 17, 2025 at 11:38 am
On November 4, 2025, Sofia Aguilar wrote an article titled “How Does ASB Decide on Spirit Days”. As an eleventh-grade junior, I have witnessed countless dress-up days at school. I find your article so eye-catching because this is a topic that I’ve always wondered about. I’ve witnessed some of the good dress-up days, but sometimes I look at some of the themes for the week and wonder who really decided this was a good idea. I always thought that the dress-up days were simply decided upon by one person, or a small group of students who picked out a theme. Aguilar’s article has given me insight into a democratic vote that I never knew occurred. I really loved reading this article because it gave me another perspective on how the homecoming dress codes become what they are, and it led me to finally understand. Her article was very insightful, and I loved how descriptive she was about the student body and their voting. Through Aguilar’s descriptive writing, I was able to really see through a narrative aspect that voting is equal regardless of titles, and that everyone has a say. Overall, I think your article is fascinating, well thought out, the writing is very strong, and your topic is very engaging.
Karina Ruiz • Nov 17, 2025 at 11:28 am
Dear Corydon Editor,
On November 4, 2025, Sofia Aguilar wrote an Article titled, “How Does ASB Decide on Spirit Days”. Sofia Aguilar did an excellent job explaining how ASB votes for the themes on Homecoming every year. Many may think that the process is solely based on one person, but Aguilar highlighted that all of ASB, which is around 100 members, vote for the specific theme. I like how Aguilar explained the process and how they are like a democracy each year voting for the themes for homecoming. I was shocked that ASB voted on the themes like this, I thought someone came up with a theme and everyone agreed. I was unaware that there was a voting process for the homecoming themes each year. I would suggest interviewing more people in ASB to see the different perspectives from all the people in ASB. I feel like this would allow people to share their thoughts about the voting process too. A question I have would be when did the voting process start? I am curious if there was always a voting process or if it started recently.
Sincerely,
Karina Ruiz
Steve Duarte • Nov 17, 2025 at 11:26 am
On November 4, 2025 Sofia Aguilar wrote an article titled “How Does ASB Decide on Spirit Days?” . I really appreciate how you wrote about this topic because it shows the effort and teamwork that goes into Homecoming, something many students may not realize. I liked how you explained the process clearly, from the brainstorming in ASB periods to the voting system that narrows down the themes. It was easy to follow and gave readers a better understanding of how much thought is put into making the week fun for everyone. A suggestion I may provide would be to expand a little more on the yearly theme “Game On!” by giving examples of how it connects to the spirit days chosen. That would help readers like myself picture how the theme ties everything together.
While reading the article, I was glad you included quotes from ASB President Stephanie Chau. Her explanation about majority‑rules voting helped clear up the common misconception that executives alone decide the themes. Including her perspective made the article feel more authentic and informative. A question I have would be, when you interviewed ASB members, did you speak mostly with leaders like Chau, or did you also ask newer members for their thoughts? It would be interesting to know if the voting process feels equally fair to everyone involved.
I applaud the way you described the democratic process of theme selection and how you emphasized that every ASB member has equal say. I also enjoyed that you included a photo of students painting a spirit day backdrop, which helped bring the article to life and gave readers a visual of the preparation. Ultimately, much praise goes to Sofia Aguilar for a well written article that not only informs but also celebrates the teamwork and creativity of ASB students during Homecoming season.