It was a calm evening in late August when a dozen student leaders were asked to join administrators, several coaches, and athletic club officers for dinner at The Hotel Bethlehem. The leadership dinner was thought initially by students to be only a meet and greet type of event for Dr. Coyte Cooper of UNC Chapel Hill, who was speaking to all of the school's athletes the next day about character and personal branding. However, the meeting quickly developed into a more serious discussion on the state of school spirit at Liberty. In the wake of a close loss of the bell to Freedom last year, these students were gathered to contemplate what must be done to bring not only the athletic teams, but the organizations and students on campus closer together.

After varsity cheerleading coach Erin Michael convened the meeting, she prompted words from Dr. Cooper by saying that the major reason for this night was a lull in school unity and spirit that has spanned several years, culminating with the first loss of the bell in decades. Michael went on to say that ever since the class of '08, things have not been the same. She shared stories of the compassion that the 2008 seniors showed towards not only each other, but everyone: "I remember one day there was a special needs kid eating alone outside of the cafeteria, and this big varsity football player came and approached him. He asked the younger kid if he wanted to come sit with him and proceeded to help take the boy's things back to his table of teammates. For the rest of the semester they sat together, How cool is that?"

Dr. Cooper then was introduced, upon which he assessed what the students in attendance felt about spirit in their school and then spoke about how to go about solving these issues. Students admitted that there are many who do bleed red and blue, but all teams want support not only when they're winning and support that reaches from field to court to stadium to inside the school. Cooper gave the advice that fans love to be a part of something bigger than themselves and that people will support you if you give them something in return - some free merchandise or your support in return. Especially with conflicting practice and game schedules, the problem of how different teams could support each other was still there. For this Cooper offered that many athletic programs have catchy slogans used universally throughout their programs. It was then that the students decided this was a tactic that they were comfortable with.

And so the idea was put forth that to begin a new chapter in our history, to show that Liberty is strong. Initially proposed as the Liberty Strong Movement, it was within a minute shortened to the catchier phrase "Lib-Strong. Several T-shirts with this motto on it, one including a ribbon replacing the 'I' for breast cancer awareness month, have already been made and are being proudly worn by students.

The hashtag 'libstrong' has taken off on twitter, too, proving social media to be an excellent forum for students/athletes from different clubs/sports to congratulate, wish luck to, and inspire each other. The movement is succeeding in revitalizing pride because Liberty is not only who we are, but how we are: liberty is a way of life - perseverance when times are tough, going the extra mile, studying or rehearsing the extra hour.

From these 12 students the diversity at liberty is clear: class presidents and cheerleaders, band officers and baseball players, wrestlers and runners, academics and advocates … we may be different, but one thing remains constant - We are all Liberty Strong.