Hi, My name is Magaly Manzanares I am a student at Southwest Early College High School I am a senior and a 4 yearvarsity cheerleader. First, I would just like to express my gratitude towards the cheer organization. It has given me some of best memories and I’m hoping to make more for my last year. 

I, in my 4 years, have always witnessed unfair treatment of the cheerleaders. During my sophomore year we had gained a cheer room, which finally gave us a place where we could get ready, meet in the mornings and leave our backpacks before games. This year our cheer room has been taken and as I am appreciative of the storage unit we were given it is only enough to hold our backpacks and of course we will make due with what we have ,but why should we? We were also given the option to get a cheer room in M hall but, due to recent events that hallway will now be used as a testing hallway so how much use of the room will we really be allowed, the other option we were given was also one of the old art classes but it would’ve been inconvenient for our cheer sponsor to walk at the way to said classroom just for her to open it and her walk to her own classroom in J hall. 

As cheerleaders, we cheer for football, volleyball, basketball , water polo, powerlifting , softball, baseball and soccer and we still attend anything we are asked to attend like clap-ins, where a student gets an award and teachers get recognition or performing in the hallway. We do a lot for everyone, while still having our competition season. we need the space for our backpacks our cheer bags and megaphone we are cheerleader’s for all, but my question is who cheers for us? Not only who cheers for us, but who will fight for us. I do this for my cheer sisters and my cheer sponsors I believe we deserve something as little as a room to get ready in and to hold all ofour belongings. 

But not only do we deserve a room to get ready in we need our own practice space were we can cheer freely and where our cheer coach doesn’t need to scream because students are so rowdy in the cafeteria that we cant hear her. Continuing, my cheer sponsor does so much for this school, including managing the cheer team, the football program, the student council,javelina jewel, and the senior events doing all of this for our school and we still cant get so type of compensation for what we do. I love being a cheerleader and I love cheering for everyone this has been my whole world since 8th grade and this is my first step to advocating for us cheerleaders this is for my younger cheer sisters who will stay.

I hope you can see my reasoning for this so the younger generation can see that their work ,sacrifice and commitment is seen. Aswell as that we are important to the school and the district and that we make a difference in the community, because I don’t just write this for southwest but, for all the other cheer organization from other schools such as PSJA North Cheer so we can all have the correct practice space like a room big enough to run our routines, practice our cheers and do hard a complicated stunts without having to worry about hitting the celling and as well not having to worry about sharing the room with some other club a space where we can be cheerleader’s. Cheerleaders are important athletes too. As I close this I hope you the idea of us cheerleader’s having a room to change, get ready in and store our things and a practice space that is big enough and where the celling are high enough for us to practice in.I hope you support the idea and help me in providing the correct help and facilities this is bigger than just me and admin but I will do my best for the board to hear this too because it is very important for us cheerleaders finally be heard and finally have a voice were our pleas can be listened too.