Imagine being the captain of the cheer team. You also have a pretty hefty course load, filled with APs and Honors classes. Now also imagine being expected to cater to the needs of the football team all while trying to juggle school, work and life in general.

The Barnstable High School Varsity Cheer team meets in the beginning of the year and chooses senior football players to make signs, bake goodies, and buy snacks for. Starting with the senior girls, they individually pick their poison, their player, or in some cases, players. If catering to one isn’t hard enough, try two, or maybe even three. Before every game, the girls track down their player(s), and hand them their brownies that have beenput in nicely decorated bags and boxes.

These girls are not on the recieving end of goodies either. What does this say about our culture? The players are not required to buy the girls any goodies, or make them signs for their competitions. The only responsibility these boys have is to show up at one of their cheer competitions, and most of them can’t even manage that.

I find it completely  unfair that these girls are subjected to do something like this, seemingly to place them into the stereotypical role of a housewife.

They are not compensated for any of the supplies or food either. It all comes out of their bank account, and into the hands of the football players.

Instead of focusing on their many different and elaborate cheers for the game the night before, they scramble to bake cookies, and put together different care packages to boost the boys’ morale.

After speaking to some of the players, they had said getting the treats from the girls make them happy, and they appreciate what they do. Many enjoy the gesture of receiving a special treat on game day.

There are some, however, who are less appreciative when they receive their goodies.

There have been instances of players telling the girls that they didn’t “feel like carrying them”. Why? What is so hard about carrying a bag of cookies around that this poor girl just spent an hour baking for you? Just take the bag, say thank you, and move on with your day.

I feel like this is creating a small tear in the culture of equality between girls and boys. A football player should not expect a cheerleader to make them something, and then expect them to carry it around all day, and a cheerleader should not be expected to do it.

Maybe it is time to end this sweet exchange, or maybe it is time to even the score board; have the boys show the same amount of appreciation that the cheerleaders do for them, and bake a cookie or two.