The cast of Bring it On practice cheerleading routines for its upcoming performances.
Before I came to Choate, my view of American culture was limited to three things: the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood sign, and High School Musical. Like many international students, I thought that cheerleading was a staple of the quintessential American high school experience: bleachers filled with students on a Friday night, a rousing football game on the field, and cheerleaders in pony tails leading chants with the help of brightly colored pom poms. However, that was not the case when I came to Choate. Instead of death-defying flips and tricks, I was welcomed by a student in a sweaty boar suit. It was later when I found out that within the world of boarding schools, cheerleading squads are not a common culture. In the spirit of the upcoming spring musical Bring it On, some members of the community shared their take on whether Choate should have cheerleaders.
Shraya Poetti ’19:
“I think it would be an exciting addition to the community, but I’m not sure how well it would mix with the dance program since there are many groups like Step Squad or Hip Hop that perform at the pep rally or home games to promote school spirit. The effectiveness of a cheerleading program at Choate also depends on whether or not it is an after-school sport or a club because it could potentially coincide with a lot of existing commitments.”
Kate Spencer ’20
“Although having cheerleaders on campus would closer resemble the high school experience portrayed in the media, I think that the boarding-school environment would be less cohesive for cheerleading because there are so many activities and varied interest around campus. Boar Pen is pretty much our cheer team, and I think they cater well to the campus’s attitude towards school spirit.”
Jonathan Joei ’18:
“The success of a cheerleading squad depends on how the cheerleaders and the School define the program, which can trickle down to whether it’s a competitive cheerleading squad or not, or something as minor as the uniform cheerleaders have to wear. Seeing a lot of college level football games and cheerleading squads, I’ve noticed that the provocative clothing can objectify cheerleaders, and that is a problem that needs to be addressed. I also think that school spirit at Choate is an issue. In other boarding schools, like Andover, they have huge turnouts to games and have pep squads and drum bands that cheer athletes on. Although athletes normally focus more on the execution of plays rather than the energy of the crowd, Choate needs a serious improvement in its overall school spirit. The administration and students have to cooperate to figure out how the cheerleading squad can enhance the level of student support and enthusiasm for our sports teams. ”
Kate Newhouse ’18:
“A lot of people forget that cheerleading takes a great deal of athleticism, and it could be a great addition to our sports program. I think that a cheerleading squad at Choate could definitely coexist with Boar Pen because Boar Pen can cover the logistics part of cheering like figuring out game schedules, while the squad can execute the actual tricks. The program should start as an intramural sport or a club to garner interest, and if students want to take their cheerleading to a higher competitive level, the School should be able to find the resources for that. ”
It seems that many students believe that a cheer squad would amp up Choate school spirit, while others think that a cheerleading team would not mesh well with the current environment of Choate extracurriculars. What do you think?
Stay tuned for next issue’s Question of the Week: “If you could be any teacher at Choate, who would you be?” Email an answer to cmason19@choate.edu
