The Bloomsburg University cheerleaders are the pride and spirit of this school. However, they are treated as the bottom-feeders in a vast sea of sports.
The cheerleading team goes above and beyond to provide support to each of the sports teams without any teams to return the favor.

They cheer at football games, basketball games, and even volleyball games and never complain about the lack of priority as they go about their season.

The cheerleaders must practice late into the evenings…as in 9 to 11 pm-late, because they do not have priority scheduling, unlike students involved in other sports.

They spend hours making banners by hand for every single football player, as well as putting together a Homecoming basket for each player with their favorite snacks and goodies, all the while spending their own money towards these baskets and receiving nothing in return.

In addition to their typical cheerleading duties at sporting events, the cheerleaders also participate in the homecoming parade, Relay for Life, and the Big Event.

They have to fundraise in order to buy practice wear, uniforms, bags, etc. because the school does not fund the cheerleading team. They are constantly out representing the school as well as advertising for upcoming games.

They are never invited to the sports banquet at the end of the year like all the other sports.

And lastly, the sport of cheerleading is an incredibly dangerous and physical sport which does not count as a gym class even though being a part of the band does.

There are so many negative stigmas around cheerleaders and it is time there is a change in how the cheerleading team is treated.
This change has to start with the athletic program and how other coaches and sports teams view the cheerleaders. If there is not support from the school, the students as well as other athletes are not going to take the cheerleading team seriously either.

So, the next time you run into a BU cheerleader, please stop them and thank them for all the hard work they do to keep up the school pride and to help you feel like apart of the team. Go Huskies!

Whitney Swenson is a Secondary Education English major and a captain of the cheerleading team.