“I believe in you!” senior Nicole Bell chimes through the intercom at Chapel Hill High School after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Bell, president of Student Government, often tags words of her own to the end of the morning address, which comes on at the second morning bell, at 8:45 a.m. She alternates the morning duty with Jessie Kim, the senior-class representative, who generally does the Tuesday and Thursday addresses.
What do students think of “I believe in you”? Bell laughs at the question. In classes throughout the school, some kids roll their eyes, Bell knows, but she says that others genuinely enjoy them.
“I think it’s a mixed bag,” she says, adding, “I hope they like hearing, ‘I believe in you.’ If someone was telling me, in the morning, right before a long day in school, I would enjoy that. But I don’t really know.”
Indeed, “I believe in you” seems generally to humor students around the school. Almost all smile when asked about the tag, and many say it gives them a nice motivation. Some find it more whimsical. Junior Sonia Lesemann says, “We laugh at it. I don’t think it’s genuine.”
Bell insists she is sincere.
“Every day,” she says, “I see kids doing really, really great stuff.” Her peers work diligently in Student Government, and during the Student Goverment class period she can walk through the school and observe other students. “A lot of kids are doing really cool stuff, so yeah, I do believe in them.”
While “I believe in you” may be the most noticeable part of her address, the Pledge of Allegiance itself, Bell says, also holds importance for some at the school, as one of their first rituals of the day.
“I don’t stand for the pledge,” Bell says. “Of course, if you choose to stand for the pledge, that’s awesome, and if you don’t, that’s awesome too.”
