Athletics are not the first thing that comes to students’ minds when thinking about Brandeis. However, the athletic teams at the University are certainly gaining notoriety. Among the many varsity sports at Brandeis is our very own cheering squad, a club sport that currently has 17 members. Jessica Petrino ’13, captain of the squad, told Her Campus how much the squad has evolved since she began in 2010. When she first joined, there were five only 5 members!
The cheerleading squad is hoping to participate in a cheerleading competition and to become a competitive team. Towards the end of the year, there are competitions at Six Flags and in New York that the squad is hoping to compete in. They have two new coaches who were hired at the beginning of the semester and are now working with the girls to learn new stunts—such as cradling, liberties and hitches—and improve their squad.
The cheerleading squad performed a few times last year at men’s and women’s varsity basketball home games, but they are still not as well-known on campus. One member of the squad believes that the squad should begin cheering at other campus events in addition to the basketball games. Their collection of cheers consists of defensive cheers, offensive cheers and audience participation cheers as well as chants. The cheerleaders also feature a halftime routine with stunts.
The cheer squad has been trying to raise awareness about the club team, by publicizing themselves at events around campus. This past weekend during Fall Fest, the cheerleaders could be were outside the Variety Show selling baked goods.
Another way the cheerleaders will be trying to raise money for the club team is through a cookie dough fundraiser. They will also be dorm-storming and handing out brochures to students. Students will be able to purchase a tub of cookie dough for $10 each, and for every tub the cheerleaders sell, they will get a certain percent of the profits to go toward their club.
The Brandeis cheerleaders seem to have a solid footing, and their goals to improve upon what already exists is sure to bring their existence on campus to people’s attention and get a larger following. Everyone should go cheer on our cheerleaders at the next basketball game to show our support. Go Judges!