Cheerleading “debacle”

By Jared Kraham | The Warrior Report

In Friday’s Press & Sun Bulletin, I was reading the Opinion page and found that Chenango Valley Senior Seth Mohney had written a letter to the editor about the Civil Rights Office’s cheerleading decision:

“When are people at the Civil Rights Office going to realize that some things are the way they are for a reason?

As a member of the Chenango Valley boys’ basketball team, I have been able to hear the opinions of all the parties involved in this cheerleading debacle. The cheerleaders, girls’ basketball players, and boys’ basketball players all feel that things were fine the way they were before the decision.

It’s truly a shame when the opinion of an overwhelming majority goes unheard because one woman makes a complaint. The way things are going, a male athlete could complain that having separate teams for males and females is a form of inequality, and we’d have to go co-ed.

Like the New York Lotto says, “Hey, you never know.”

Seth answers the question that everyone in the school is discussing – Who wants this change? It is clear to a large majority of people that the “infringement” that the decision speaks of is on the basis of one woman (Rosie Pudish) making a complaint. In her guest viewpoint article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin on November 19, she explains

Call in the riot police

Commentary

By Ed Backlund | The Warrior Report

I was just levied my first Warrior Report assignment – to shed some light on my personal views regarding the STAC Cheerleading decision. (“What’s the problem that needs to be fixed?”)

My initial reaction to the Office of Civil Rights’s decision was one of surprise. “If it was working fine before, why did they have to change it? Why does one mother get to tell hundreds of cheerleaders when and for whom they can cheer?” But once I got past my initial reaction, I realized that perhaps both sides [the no-longer anonymous mother (Rosie Pudish) vs. almost everyone else] had valid points. Wasn’t it a similar idea to desegregate schools in the 60s?

Neither “team” wanted to be with the other, but high-ranking public officials told them what was good for them, pulled in the National Guard, and 40-some years later, some of these deep-seated ill-wills still stand between whites and blacks. Now, I am not saying that any riots have occurred over Title IX, nor that it is totally acceptable for Title IX to be ignored fully, but I digress.

What I am here to say is that cheerleaders should be allowed – but not forced – to do whatever they were doing before the Title IX decision. My guess is that all STAC schools would go back to only cheering on boys’ games. This would make much more sense considering the inevitable length of the appeal process.

STAC Cheerleading Decision

What’s the problem that needs to be fixed?

By Jared Kraham | The Warrior Report

THE WARRIOR REPORT HQ 11/22/06 – In a decision made by U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, all Cheerleaders at Southern Tier Athletic Conference (STAC) schools will be required to attend an equal number of girls’ and boys’ basketball games this season. The reason for the new rule is due to an investigation by the Office of Civil Rights at STAC Schools, following a complaint by an unnamed parent from Johnson City. Her issue was that school cheerleaders only attend boys’ games, and the investigation determined that the STAC schools violated Title IX guidelines. This decision means that the various cheerleading squads have to split time among boys’ and girls’ basketball games this season, and because of this, most will not have time to attend away matches. This has made for most athletes, coaches, and students to scratch their heads at the issue. A large percentage of girl basketball players do not agree with the decision and find that girls cheering on other girls can be awkward. “I guess it can do something for school spirit,” says Laura Brown, a Chenango Valley sophomore, and prospective girls basketball athlete. “I just think that girls cheering on others girls can be annoying.” Much of the same opinion is coming from cheerleading squads. Kristy Topa, a senior at CV, thinks that the decision is pointless. “If the basketball players don’t want us there, and we don’t want to be there, what’s the problem?” Many fans believe that the decision could be reversed and things would get back to normal.