'Be the light': Why high schools across America are burning stadium lights

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There's nothing like those Friday night lights.

Through the darkness of the coronavirus pandemic and an uncertain future, high schools across the country are burning their stadium lights to remind students to keep shining.

With life disrupted and schools eerily empty amid the ongoing outbreak, a high school principal in Texas was recently inspired to illuminate the football stadium to remind the teens that teachers and administrators were thinking of them.

Now, the #BeTheLight challenge is lighting up social media.

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During spring break and before the official shutdown in late March, Principal Brett Beesley said he was driving by Dumas High School when the vision came to life.

“My heart was hurting for our kids, and I wanted to show that we love them. I thought, ‘It would be cool to light up the stadium,’” Beesley told Yahoo Lifestyle.

With a little help from head football coach Aaron Dunham, the principal had the field glowing later that night.

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“To the students of Dumas ISD: Tonight and every weekday night from 8:00 to 9:00 we are going to burn our stadium lights for you... as a symbol of hope and an assurance that you are on our hearts and minds,” Beesley tweeted from the school’s account. “To the Great State of Texas: We challenge you to do the same,” he said, adding the hashtag #BeTheLight.

The trend soon spread to school districts in Irving and Eustace, which proudly accepted the challenge. In the weeks since, the #BeTheLight movement has expanded across Colorado, Tennessee and Minnesota, Yahoo reports.

In the Gopher State, an estimated 250 schools lit up their stadiums on Monday night and shared #BeTheLight photos to social media, Fox 9 reports.

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“There’s unity, right? And solidarity,” Jed Helwig, activities director of North High School in St. Paul told the St. Paul Pioneer Press of the statewide effort. “To let [students] know that we miss them. We look forward to seeing them as soon as possible.”