A Mild Cheer

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Cavalier Daily

Cavalier Daily

1974-09-25

Cavalier Daily

A Mild Cheer
In response to the rather obvious unrest which its constituency evinced last Saturday, Student Council last night took an initial step toward reviving some semblance of faith in the University’s cheerleaders.
By unanimous vote, Council suggested to Coach George Edwards and his cheerleading squad that they consider the addition of several male members, “in the interest of both efficiency and nondiscrimination.” We could hardly agree more, and hope that one or two mates of the opposite sex will provide some stabilizing influence as well, and not merely dance partners.
In addition, Council restated the perfectly obvious fact that “The Good Old Song” should be retained as a postlude to every Cavalier score. As one candid but level-headed Engineering School representative pointed out, without opposition, anyone who would recommend otherwise not only surpasses belief, but merits a position within a more appropriate environment: to borrow his example, Washington & Lee.
Unfortunately, Council deferred for the moment any more explicit comment upon the central issue, namely taste. As one female representative hinted beforehand, however, the addition of male cheerleaders should in itself moderate that squad’s impetuosity when next tempted to lift outdated Hullaballou floor shows. As to that abrasive microphone, surely last week’s crowd reaction alone proved that scheme’s futility.
We commend, at any rate, Council’s resolution – as far as it goes – to Mr. Edwards and the cheerleaders, and remind the former that it makes absolutely no stipulations as to “qualified.” For, as still another Council member asked in explaining that deletion: Could any cheerleader, on the basis of previous experience, be reasonably termed “qualified”?