The Manhattan University Cheerleading Team has worked tirelessly all this season-practicing, fundraising, and representing our university. After earning a qualifying bid to compete at Nationals in Daytona, one of the highest honors in collegiate cheerleading, the team was informed MONTHS later that the university will not allow them to attend this year. Even more devastating, the future of the entire program is now at risk. The reasoning behind this decision is because of the school’s dissatisfaction for this club team’s game attendance especially for break games. The break games that they aren’t offered housing for so the girls would either have to pay for housing or make their commutes from over an hour while paying for gas. In previous years these games during break weren’t mandatory and regardless we still notified who was needed as for our reasoning for lack of attendance almost 2 weeks prior to the first break game. This club still throughout the season attends 20+ home games on top of all their practice, school work, work to get money, family matters, homework, fundraising events, and class. The classes that they have to be at during game time since they aren’t offered priority scheduling because they “aren’t athletes”. This decision disregards the countless hours of commitment these students have given, the financial and emotional investment they have already made, and the opportunity to represent Manhattan University on a national stage. Cheerleading is not just a club to these girls, it is demanding and requires strength, leadership, teamwork, and resilience. These students balance academics alongside heavy practices and competitions, all while  cheering on the sidelines for the home games. We are asking everyone at Manhattan University to reconsider this decision, to allow the team to attend Nationals in Daytona this year, and to take the steps to make this cheerleading program one that the present and future will proudly be apart of. By signing this petition, you are standing with these athletes and affirming that their hard work matters. Let their voices be heard. Let them compete. Let this program continue. *DON’T DONATE MONEY!! IT DOESN’T GO TO US!!*