Tanner Tortorella is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Campo Verde High School for AZPreps365.com.

The preparation that goes into student sections is an unappreciative art. At the core, student sections embody unity between students and the pride they have for their school. The work that goes into those games is essential to help the play on the field to motivate the players.

The head of the self-titled "Campo Crazies," the name for Campo Verde's student section, is the student council. They plan out and organize all of Campo Verde's spirit weeks and themes for football game days. 

"For spirit weeks [student council] all come together as a council, and we all throw ideas out there," senior student council rep Keeghan Irvine said.

Irvine mentioned that the council narrows the group's top three or five ideas to derive the base for that week's spirit week. The process is the same for non-spirit week game days, as they all discuss a theme that the student body would enjoy. A strategy they rely on is reviewing the success of past themes; popular ones like "Blackout" or "BloodBath" are always in constant rotation.

The importance of participation is crucial for any student section to thrive and make their presence felt on the field, which is why the student council has representation from all grade levels. Campo Verde's student council consists of 41 representatives from the freshman class to the graduating seniors. 

"The freshman reps in student council now, when they're seniors, they'll know the traditions and keep it going," vice president and events coordinator Emilee McArdle said. "There is a big gap between freshman and seniors."

Irvine and McArdle touch on the cultural age gap between freshman and seniors, so having freshman reps in the student council helps close that gap. Each representative in the student council can relay the theme throughout every classroom, which creates a synergy between grade levels to create a stronger bond of school spirit.

Student councils flourish through the students' passion, which is what teacher advisor Becky Downer tries to cement. Downer and fellow advisor Destiny Singvongsa allow the students to facilitate the conversations and voice their passion. They face a possible hurdle in gaining school administration approval for any student council's theme, but Downer encourages the students to fight for their beliefs.

"I send [student council] to go argue their point because if that is what you guys want, then you need to be the advocate for your stuff," Downer said.

While in need of admin's approval, the head of the "Campo Crazies" does not depend on the school financially. Downer and the student council discussed purchasing their confetti for touchdowns celebration and other supplies for game days.

"We'll put in a purchase order together that we'll pay to buy some [supplies] to at least get us started," Downer said. "If they want them, they go buy them,"

There is a real pride within students for their school, so it is not out of the ordinary for students to buy their decorations to showcase that during Friday night games. Student councils also raise their funds through multiple events that they turn right around and put back into the school.

"Our fundraisers are basically our dances; that is our main thing we get money from," Irvine said.

Downer added that they also sell "Campo Crazies" shirts to help cover some of any student council project costs. The shirt does make it easier for future themes but has a minimal profit of only $1 or $2. However, from how they described the financial situation, it sounds like the student council does not face many setbacks as the willingness from members to purchase their own supplies to support the school erases those problems.

Irvine and the rest of the representatives help the finances to show out on game days outside of school, and they do the same outside of school. The senior rep talked about how she and other members advertise on their Instagrams possible themes to gauge the reaction from their peers. Also, talking with the players themselves to see what they want to see to help hype them up on the field.

"We talk to other people about it and be like, 'Would you guys want to do this?' Because we don't want to pick something, and everyone doesn't want to dress up for that," Irvine said. 

Communication is crucial between the student council and the rest of the student population — unity is imperative for the "Campo Crazies" to thrive. The student council wants that togetherness between grades to produce a student section that will create high school memories to reminiscence for years to come.

That is why Irvine, McArdle, Downer and other student council peers work so hard to solidify Campo Verde's school spirit. The students endure the financial burdens as a unit and purchase the supplies out of their pocket because of their Coyotes pride, fostering an environment that will continue this type of passion for years to come.