By SABLE BRUNO
Contributing Writer
Lately I have been to some of our school basketball games and one of the first things I thought of was, “Why is our gym so tiny?” I have seen games from other colleges; they have these big, beautiful gyms that fit so many people and I wonder how much their school’s tuition is to support such a big gym. We pay enough to have a better gym. Not that I am saying our gym now is not good. It is better than my high school gym, that’s for sure, but if we used the school’s money that is left over for our gym, we would have more support for our basketball teams. Even if we used the money that they use to charge non-saint rose attendees, that is something towards reinventing the gym.
Also, the basketball teams deserve bigger support. The cheerleaders barely have a spot of their own to stand in. Other colleges I have seen on TV have gyms where their cheerleaders can sit and still not be in the way of the players. Our gym does not give the cheerleaders an equal spot where they do not have to feel they are in the way. Cheerleaders are important to our school sports because they help get that energy from the crowd that our players need to win a game or gain that confidence.
What if we helped sell souvenirs to help cheer on our teams? Foam number one fingers, hats, noisemakers, and anything else we would want to purchase to cheer on our players. Our school is full of clubs; maybe even creating a club that focuses on funding our gym can be created. I see clubs all the time having bake sales to fund their clubs and little events where they get the help they need. Who’s to say we cannot have fundraisers and bake sales to do the same? Students love chocolate and baked goods. It will be time well spent. Maybe even advertise through other schools and have them come along to enjoy an event where they can help us have a bigger gym.
It is important to make students feel that their needs are met as well. Shouldn’t that also imply to the student athletes as well? Shouldn’t they have a big enough place to practice? Or big enough place to have their fans come out and support them. Maybe some of you feel our school’s money can be used on something more efficient, and some of you are right.
But think about it, don’t you think future Midknight Madness’ would be better with a bigger gym. More pep, more excitement, more noise. Everything a pep rally like Midknight Madness needs. I would not want a student to graduate from school and say that they were never able to attend a basketball or volleyball game because we did not have enough seats or that it was just too boring.
