How Well Armed Do You Like Your HS Cheerleaders? - Like most schools across the country, Nacogdoches High is both Drug Free and Gun Free as a sign outside the building proudly boasts . . . unless, of course, you're a cheerleader then those kinds of "little details" get thrown out the window. Take, for instance, a recent pep rally at NHS and a skit designed to fire up the fans put on by the cheerleaders. The premise was simple enough (and oft repeated at HS pep rallies across the USA): the school mascot is kidnapped by students of the rival school (played by your JV cheerleaders, of course) and held of ransom. Your varsity cheerleaders ride in to the rescue and free the mascot, assuring that your team will march to victory at Friday
night's big game. Oh, we forgot to mention: after freeing the mascot you then force the "kidnappers" to kneel in front of you, pull out your guns and shoot them in the head. After their deaths you throw money into the air (WTF?) and put their corpses in a pile so you dance on their graves! (Tony Soprano would be so proud! Go Fighting Mobsters!)
We think it may be that last little part that is causing the stir at Nacogdoches HS, although so far no one has been suspended and the administration does not seem to be overly concerned about its young ladies performing mob hits on their rivals. According to NHS principal Nathan "Deadeye" Chaddick, " . . . this was just a simple skit done by our cheerleaders just to promote some school spirit and motivate the football team at a pep rally ... they were doing like a little country, cowboy-type skit." He goes on to compare this friendly teen sports carnage to classic theatre adding, "What do they want us to do with Shakespeare when kids have swords stabbing each other or plays with some shooting? It's the same thing. It's the same little skit. But because these three girls have a personal thing going on against some cheerleaders, they feel they have a right to use this venue for their personal agenda or purpose, and I'm just not going to allow that." The "they" Chadwick is referring to are two students who wrote an editorial in the school newspaper titled "Fearleaders" that was--surprise!--critical of the skit. Chaddick, of course, got to edit the copy and eliminated three whole paragraphs that just happened questioned the administration's support for the skit. (An unedited version of the editorial is supposed to be posted to the Daily Sentinel on Sunday, but their Opinion page is currently on loading correctly. If it did, you might be able to read it here.)
Now, we don't think these cheerleaders should be kicked out of school or nothin', but we do have to question the decision-making skills of old Deadeye and anyone else at NHS who may have approved this skit beforehand or is not the least bit concerned about it now. (Daily Sentinel)