In an attempt to bring the school’s community together, Jesuit High School Sacramento held its first Spirit Activity event of the semester on Jan. 13. 

All students who attended the event had to have screened negative for COVID-19 on Jan. 6 and 11. Food trucks from Chando’s Tacos and Kona Shaved Ice were parked outside of the Harris Center for lunch, and seniors ate for free. Seniors were also invited to bring folding chairs to sit on the senior quad and wear tropical attire.

However, the main event of the first Wednesday Spirit Activity was a live NBA 2K tournament for students to participate in or spectate inside the Father Barry Gymnasium. Jack Tilton ’21 and Jared Manuel ’21 defeated Gabriel De La Torre ’21 and John Romero ’21 38-14 in the championship of the tournament, each winning a $25 Chipotle gift card for their effort.

Gabriel De La Torre ’21 believes that his team definitely could have played better to make the outcome of the championship game closer. 

“We could have had better ball movement,” Gabriel said. “[Jack and Jared] would clog the paint completely and we would just take bad shots instead of kicking it out. Our defense also could have been a lot better — we didn’t box out and we allowed them to get a lot of putbacks. Overall, I don’t think we should have picked the [Los Angeles] Clippers, we should have picked a more physical team.”

Despite losing in the championship game of the tournament, Gabriel De La Torre ’21 still thinks “the tournament was a success” and was “well played.”

Student Executive Council President Ronan Brothers ’21 was satisfied with the Spirit Activity event as a whole.

“I think it was successful because we had around fifty people come to hang out and have food,” Ronan said. “The 2K tournament was a success and was very entertaining and competitive. We look forward to more events like this where all students can come and have lunch and hang out together.”

Student Executive Council Vice President Jake Hall ’21 was also very happy with the outcome of the first Wednesday Spirit Activity.

“The event was absolutely a success,” Jake said. “We had a good number of students who were all able to interact and hangout with each other. There was pingpong, chess, food trucks, and music playing for everyone. This has been our first opportunity to prove that despite a pandemic we can begin to return to social normalcy.”

Jake also says that as the Wednesday Spirit Activities progress, the Student Executive Council will have much more in store for the Jesuit student body to experience on campus.

“We have a plan to utilize the free Wednesdays for different types of tournaments and activities,” Jake said. “Soon there will be pingpong and many others. These events bring back student life that was missing on campus that are significant to the Jesuit experience. We hope to keep bringing more and more activities for all of the students!”

As the second semester continues and more students begin to return to campus following safe return protocol, it seems like the Jesuit Administration and the Student Executive Council will continue to find new ways to bring back the student life and atmosphere that makes Jesuit what it is.