The sport (?) of cheerleading can be a topic of debate at any given moment, especially at the sub-collegiate levels. Dealing with cheerleader uniforms and dance routines can be a difficult task for high school principals to tackle. Believe me, I graduated from a high school that once had a cheerleading controversy involving the song “Tip Drill” by Nelly that ruffled plenty of feathers. If you don’t know why, go to YouTube and watch the music video — you’ll understand.
Needless to say, Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose will not be using its cheerleading squad as an advertising ploy any time soon like some of its collegiate counterparts have done. Principal Traci Williams said on Tuesday that the school needed to start enforcing its dress-code policy in making cheerleaders wear skirts that are lower than mid-thigh while in class. Apparently some of the varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders were wearing miniskirts that are considered inappropriate classroom attire.
Girls with skirts that are too short have been ordered to either wear their cheering sweats on game day or wear leggings underneath. At least the school isn’t putting them through a football IQ test like some team we know from New England, but here’s the funny part. The squad can wear skirts of any length at games or rallies. They just can’t wear them in an academic setting. Am I the only one who doesn’t see the point in that?
Perhaps the school is only concerned with the cheerleaders disrupting the learning process, but it would stand to reason that a rule about skirt length would apply any time the students are representing the school. I guess that’s why I’m not the principal. The only thing I’m certain of is that this fantastic male cheerleader would be asked to put leggings on while in the classroom.
