By Audrey Reed
Opinions Editor
Whether cheerleading is a sport is debatable.
What is not debatable, however, is Pepperdine cheerleaders receiving very little support from administration and students.
In terms of fiscal support, cheerleaders have a meager budget which barely covers the cost of uniforms. In fact, each member of the squad has to pay some of their own money to pay what the team’s budget does not cover.
And forget about scholarships. All of these women are basically volunteers who care about the spirit of the school, which is more than the administration shows with their tight-fisted budget.
Traditionally the cheerleaders have been given the leftovers of the athletics budget.
Though the final cost for Midnight Madness remains unknown, it seems a few thousand dollars could be reserved for the cheerleaders, who serve for more than one event.
The greater concern, however, has little to do with finances.
Shockingly, the school does not excuse cheerleaders from class if they have to represent Pepperdine at an away game. Instead, individual professors decide whether to count the cheerleaders absent.
That leaves some of them using their one or two allowed absences to represent our school. Most students use these to catch up on sleep, do some extra studying or just take a break from school not to mention illness.
Last semester, a group of students went to the World Missions Workshop in Texas and they had to miss a day of class and received excused absences.
While the university was completely correct to allow these students to do this, why cheerleaders cannot be granted the same privileges seems contradictory to the development of a sense of unity, which is undeniably a goal of the university.
Cheerleaders are an important part of this university. We would all be upset if Pepperdine did not have cheerleaders. However, with the current support that is given to them, it is almost as if we do not have a squad.
These hard-working students practice from 10 p.m. to midnight four nights a week and cheer at many events from basketball to water polo.
The reason they have to practice so late at night is because of conflicting schedules. Unlike athletes, they do not get to register early to ensure that they can practice at a more normal time.
My hometown houses Texas A&M University. If people know anything about this university, it’s the sense of extreme pride students and fans have.
When people here learn that am I from there, they tell me that they wish Pepperdine had the same tradition and spirit that A&M has.
No one can deny that school spirit is a good thing. So why then are we suppressing a group that would be able to spur school spirit?
By giving more support to the cheerleaders, Pepperdine will be closer to achieving this.
Over the past few years, the cheerleading squad has greatly improved and gained more respect among students. In fact, the squad just competed in Los Angeles in its first national competition, which is certainly a step toward getting better.
However, the squad will not be able to continue to improve unless students and administrators fully support the cheerleaders. Monetary reasons should be no excuse. There are other ways to show appreciation, such as giving them more privileges.
But until then, we should not chastise the cheerleaders if they don’t compare to other universities’ squads. Instead, give them the respect they deserve as part of the effort to encourage spirit.
February 20, 2003