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9
December 2011
CAMPUS NEWS
Though Gallagher said that cheerleading
is “silly,” he did say that it is a great way to keep
fit.
“Cheerleading is not a sport, but it does
take good athletes to do what we do,” he said.
Newborn, a rookie to cheerleading, said,
“It’s a stinkin’ good way to work out and get fit
because you are supporting weight in unnatu-
ral ways.”
Cheerleading is also a huge time commit-
ment, Newborn said. Not only are there six
hours of practice a week, but there are also
individual workouts that each guy has to com-
plete. And of course they also have to attend
games to cheer.
Althoughmale cheerleaders bring somuch
strength and time to their sport, they don’t re-
ceive the same acceptance as other teams on
campus. Newborn said that even though he
likes what he does, he doesn’t go around wear-
ing the cheerleading team shirts all the time.
“I may be a cheerleader,” Newborn said,
“but I don’t introduce myself as ‘Hey, I’m
Adam and I’m a cheerleader.’” He said that if
he did, people would put him in a stereotypical
box right away.
Caleb Venmen, a sophomore on the team,
said that to be a cheerleader you can’t let the
stereotypes and criticism get to you, but the
comments are still hurtful. Gallagher said that
the guys on the team realize that they will get
made fun of for being on the team.
“Our job is to keep the girl in the air and
make sure she looks pretty all the time,” Gal-
lagher said. “It’s OK if we look stupid as long
as the girls look good.”
“Our number one goal is to glorify God,”
Newborn said. “And we do that by serving the
girls.”
According to senior Eric Thompson, male
cheerleaders here at Cedarville do not fit the
stereotypes. Cheerleading gives the guys a
chance to develop friendships that aren’t avail-
able on other teams. Venmen agreed, saying
that the team members are really close and
have “a brother and sister relationship.”
Gallagher said the team is full of solid
Christian men who are on the team because
they either got hurt or weren’t quite good
enough to play a sport in college. Before any-
one joins the team, every guy had to look Gal-
lagher in the eye and tell him that they were
there for the right reason — to bring glory to
God.
As Thompson put it, the Cedarville male
cheerleaders are not the fairy dancing type of
cheerleaders at all.
Photo by Stephen Port
Caleb Venmen, a sophomore on the team, said that to be a cheerleader you can’t let the stereotypes
and criticism get to you, but the comments are still hurtful.
“Our job is to keep the girl
in the air and make sure she
looks pretty all the time. It’s
OK if we look stupid as long
as the girls look good.”
Joe Gallagher
Cedarville cheerleader
