PCHS cheerleaders to remain on team, get two demerits

Staff

Published Friday, December 6, 2002

Pike County High School will be missing four cheerleaders at the Alabama High School Athletic Association's championship on Dec. 14.

However, school officials have backed down from their original position and the girls will not be dismissed from the squad.

Instead, the girls, who will be taking the American College Test on Dec. 14, will now be given two demerits and suspended from cheering at the first home basketball game, according to parents.

Pike County High School Principal Terry Casey declined to comment on the situation and phone calls to cheerleader sponsor Daphne Coppage were not returned. Casey had previously said that the girls needed to choose between the two events and would not be allowed to continue as cheerleaders if they missed the championship.

According to Marilyn Rodgers, mother of cheerleader captain Dee Dee Rodgers, the girls were explicitly told by school administrators that if they took the college preparation test on the date of the cheerleading competition, they would be dismissed from the squad. However, in meetings with school officials Thursday, the parents and cheerleaders were told that they would receive a much lighter punishment for skipping the competition and would still be allowed to cheer throughout basketball season.

"We're happy, but disappointed with the way that they did it," Rodgers said. "They're definitely, all four of them, going to be taking the ACT on that day."

Officials at the AHSAA said that the conflict between the important test and the cheerleading contest was regrettable but unavoidable.

"It's the third time this year that the ACT is given and it is available at other times," said Alan Mitchell, assistant director of the AHSAA. "We try to stay off those dates if we can, but there are so many other dates, from state testing to the SAT, that we can't stay away from every one."

According to parents of the cheerleaders, the school plans to select cheerleaders from the junior high squad to take the place of the high school girls during the competition. The event will be the first time that Pike County High has participated in the statewide cheerleading competition and, according to Pike County education officials, it marks an attempt to upgrade the competitive nature of the cheerleading program.

Though the test-taking cheerleaders will be assigned two demerits and suspended for one basketball game, according to the Pike County High School cheerleader constitution, a cheerleader can only be dismissed after accruing 10 demerits.a

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