Since the 1920s, the State College Area School District has been represented by maroon and gray. These are the SCASD community’s heritage colors, and they respect them. Maroon and gray were fashionable colors a hundred years ago, but in a world with digital media and saturated colors, it’s time for a change.
School colors can influence everything from participation in school spirit days, to support for sports teams, to performance and to success in competitive events.
“When it comes to school spirit days, I don’t want to wear maroon all day because I don’t like the color,” sophomore Maya Stewart said.
SCASD, West Shore School District, Altoona Area School District, and Shikellamy School District all have maroon as one of their colors. A study conducted by psychologists at Western Kentucky University and Murray State University found that sports teams are greatly defined by their team colors. Importantly, they found that people watching sports games are more likely to pick the team they root for based on the team’s colors.
According to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, sports teams that wore red performed higher on average. Similar results were found in a study conducted by psychologists Russel Hill and Robert Barton, where they randomly assigned boxers and wrestlers in the 2005 Olympics red, blue, and gray. The study found that 55% of those wearing red won their bout, followed by blue. Athletes who wore gray, one of the colors of SCASD, had the fewest wins.
“I feel like definitely having a brighter color would make you feel more pumped up, ready to play and [want to] win,” sophomore Hannah Simcoe said.
State College Area High School also incorporates its colors into the building.
“This school is very open and loving, bringing light in, so having some gray destroys [what] they’re [SCASD] trying to create,” sophomore Eva Prive said.
With the possibility of new school colors, many students are beginning to debate potential new colors.
Stewart advocated for teal and yellow.
“I really like purple, or I feel like light blue is something a lot of teams don’t have,” Simcoe said.
Since the 1920s, SCASD has changed its curriculum, buildings, and extracurricular activities. It’s time to change the colors too.
