Dear Editor,
I was angry to read that the district office denied the Gilroy
High School varsity cheerleading squad’s request to compete in
Hawaii because they will miss three days of school
– a trip they have been making since the 1980s.
Dear Editor,
I was angry to read that the district office denied the Gilroy High School varsity cheerleading squad’s request to compete in Hawaii because they will miss three days of school – a trip they have been making since the 1980s.
Attending school is important, but come on! Since the beginning, cheerleading has been overlooked as a sport. I was a cheerleader for four years at North Salinas High, and we worked just as hard and were as dedicated to the sport as any football/basketball player on the team. Cheerleaders put in long hours over the summer, before and after school, not only practicing but fund raising for the school and the community.
Every college application I have ever seen asks what the applicant’s extracurricular activities were in addition to their grade point average.
If you want to put a stop to this particular field trip do it by telling the freshman and junior varsity cheerleaders that this is the last year that the Gilroy High varsity squad will be attending the competition in Hawaii. At least they haven’t spent the last four years preparing for and anticipating representing their school and community at the Pro Bowl. It’s unfair to drop this bomb on the squad five months before they’re supposed to go.
To quote my husband, “Maybe the trustees of the district office can tell us how many days of school a year students miss showing livestock as an extracurricular activity?”
To the parents and varsity cheerleading squad of Gilroy High … don’t give up!
To the trustees of the district office … if one of your daughters or family members were on the varsity squad, I bet you’d let them go!
Kirstein Gimenez, Gilroy
