Spirit tunnel sets the tone for Camp Crimson attendees to let loose

The spirit tunnel at Camp Crimson's Boomer Session is something students can't miss — because camp leaders won't let them.

With the inflatable Sooner Schooner and the band blasting "Boomer Sooner" and "Oklahoma," the spirit tunnel might seem a bit boisterous and crowded, but it's how the leaders let campers know it's OK to be a little silly, said Nicole Jenkins, Catlett small-group leader.

“This is kind of fun for them to come through and realize that it’s about having fun and not being cool or betraying a certain image,” Jenkins said. “We’re all crazy, and we’re all weird.”

Campers who tried to dodge the tunnel were caught by small-group leaders at every corner wrangling them back in. Some students started walking through a little hesitantly, but a smile slowly grew across their face as they reached the end.

Others, however, were not so eager.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it just looks like — I don’t know — a lot of ridiculousness,” said Brenden Wiley, a spirit tunnel dodger and freshman from Forney, Texas.

Small-group leaders understand that everybody isn’t infused with school spirit, Jenkins said, but that doesn’t stop them from wearing their own spirit on their sleeves.

“Some campers might seem a little unsure about the spirit tunnel, and that happens a lot,” she said. “The campers come through and don’t know what to expect, and when they see us excited and pumped to be here, we hope it makes them equally pumped. Setting the first impression is what we are about.”

Andrea Harraman, freshman from Edmond, was one camper who welcomed the spirit tunnel with open arms.

“It was really fun,” Harrahman said with a smile still stretched across her face. “I felt really welcomed. I think this is going to be an amazing weekend, and I think it will be really energetic and fun.”

Emily Boswell

Emily is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Sooner yearbook.