Petey Menz ’11 and Alex Nitkin ’10
News Editor and Managing Editor
When Olivia Stanley ’13 joined the cheerleading team at the beginning of the school year, she didn’t quite know what was to be expected of her.
Now she knows, however, that being on the squad means energizing crowds at home games, executing complicated acrobatic feats with her teammates, and baking for her senior football player.
Every Thursday night, at the football team’s weekly pasta dinner before their big game on Saturday, Stanley gives Alex Mullen ’10 a cake she baked herself. She also decorated a painted poster for Mullen that now hangs on the windows surrounding the cafeteria, as did her 20 teammates for their respective players.
Before the start of the football season every year, the cheerleading team gets together and decides which player each will bake for. Many of them choose their player, but freshman like Stanley, who were new to the school and unfamiliar to the footballers, were each randomly assigned an athlete. Stanley was assigned to Mullen.
“She was okay with it, and so were a lot of younger cheerleaders in the same boat as her,” Mullen said. “She came up to me on the first day and said hi, and we introduced each other.”
Stanley had not expected to bake for him, but she saw no problem with it.
“At the first pasta dinner, I asked who my player was and then I gave him his cake,” Stanley said. “It was fine.”
Stanley’s nonchalant attitude towards the practice is similar to that of most cheerleaders. Her mother Beverly, however, has a different opinion.
“They never told any of the parents that this would happen,” she said. “…I was walking my dog the other day telling everyone how sexist this is.”
Other parents, like Kathy Gabbay, have similar feelings.
“It seems like the perpetuation of a ’50s mindset about cheerleading,” said Gabbay, the mother of former cheerleader Anna Gabbay ’06. “I think it undermines the team itself for them to have the responsibility of baking for football players and assigning football players for each girl…In 2005 and 2006, other parents thought it was ridiculous too.”
When Gabbay’s younger daughter Natasha, an “Inklings” editor, came to Staples, she encouraged her not to try out for the cheerleading team.
“Inklings” contacted cheerleading coach Jocelyn Sadlon for a response, but she declined to comment, as she felt she had not had enough experience with the tradition to speak comfortably about the subject.
The cheerleading captains all acknowledge that parents often complain, but they maintain that these negative attitudes are generally unfounded.
“Some parents occasionally say something, but they don’t know all the information,” said quad-captain Rebecca Teplitz ’10. Fellow captain Brooke Kranz ’10 agreed.
“Some parents don’t think that it’s right, but it’s a tradition,” Kranz said. “It’s more for fun.”
Furthermore, the captains assert that baking and decorating for the players is purely optional.
“Nothing is mandatory…you don’t really have to, but a lot of girls do it,” said cheerleading quad-captain Jourdan Friedman ’10. “A lot of girls bake—I don’t know how that started up, but it’s a really old tradition, and a lot of girls have decided not to do that, and that’s completely fine.”
This year, however, every cheerleader is participating. Kathy Gabbay and Beverly Stanley hold that although the tradition is technically voluntary, younger cheerleaders are pressured to participate.
“They’ve said it’s optional, but it is not optional because everyone else is doing it,” Stanley said.
The cheerleaders also defended the practice with the argument that football players give them gifts in return.
“…Football players will do things like bake for us sometimes, and come to our competitions,” Friedman said.
Friedman later admitted, however, that football players generally only bake and attend cheerleading competitions once a year, at the FCIAC finals in February.
She also responded to accusations of sexism by saying that responsibilities are not delegated by gender, and that if a male student were on the cheerleading team, he would most likely bake for a football player.
“It’s not like a girl or boy thing, it’s just cheering for your football player,” Friedman said.
This then raises the question of why football team co-manager Eric Wessan ’10 was provided with a cheerleader while the other co-manager, Breezi Toole ’10, did not have a cheerleader until recently.
“Eric played football for three years, so that’s why he has a cheerleader,” said Toole before she was assigned her own cheerleader. “And he’s a boy, obviously. All the cheerleaders are girls—I wouldn’t want one.”
However, when “Inklings” contacted Friedman for comment, she gave a different explanation.
According to Friedman, the captains had not been aware that Toole was a manager, and they would have provided her with a cheerleader if they had known.
The day after Friedman was contacted, she and her three fellow captains informed Toole that from that point on, she would have a cheerleader baking for her.
Toole was surprised at this development.
“I definitely think it’s a little funny…because I’m a female manager,” Toole said.
While debate in the Staples community remains divided over the issue, it’s fairly common elsewhere in the country.
Varsity, a national cheerleading organization based in Memphis, Tenn., encourages cheerleaders on its website to decorate football players’ lockers and make them “care packages” with “food and other goodies.”
Shelia Noone, Varsity’s vice president of public relations, said that although she has heard accusations of sexism, “that’s not a nationwide belief.”
Most students at Staples share the feeling that the baking is fun and harmless.
“I’ve never met anyone who said it was really terrible,” Mullen said. “It’s become a tradition, so we just run with it.”
Still, some parents feel that this explanation is not enough to justify the practice.
“I respect the athletes themselves, and I’m not negative about cheerleading, I just don’t think they have to be subservient to the football team,” Gabbay said. “I’d like them to move forward in their traditions and let some of the more antiquated traditions go.”
caroline • Oct 31, 2009 at 4:03 am
is inklings that hard up for stories that they have to write about something so insignificant? surely there are more interesting things happening in our school. i personally find it somewhat obscene that people are offended by the baking. this article is over-thinking the whole situation. baking for the football players is a nice way to get them excited for the games. it's not sexist at all, i'm sure the football players would be happy to bake for the cheerleaders. besides, isn't the one of the primary purposes of cheerleading to excite the crowd and players during and before games? if the baking were to affect anyone negatively, it would be the cheerleaders. they clearly have no problem with it because as far as i know, they bake for the players willingly. really, this article has done them more harm then anything else. honestly, writing this article and embarrassing some poor freshman girl over something her mom said is just insensitive. we have a good cheerleading squad at staples and this makes them sound like baking is the only thing they do well. not to be rude, but this is overtly dumb and biased.
Inklings Reader • Oct 20, 2009 at 10:55 pm
It does not matter whether or not you think it is fair. Mr. Dodig clearly stated that many years before he became principle for the school the “tradition” was prohibited. You cannot blame Inklings for ending it.
Elyssa • Oct 20, 2009 at 8:57 pm
If you talk to a reporter, they are going to print. The girl should have known what she was getting herself into. I think this is a job well done, an a great example that high school newspapers can actually accomplish something.
anonymous • Oct 19, 2009 at 11:22 pm
In spite of all these comments, which are vehemently pro-cheerleader or pro-Inklings, no one has realized that this is an inherently stupid issue in comparison to the bigger problems at Staples. The drinking at Homecoming, for example, has been overshadowed by this topic (at this issue was, admittedly, NOT an issue until Inklings brought it up). At the same time, the cheerleaders evidently ignored the superintendent’s edict (see the story at http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/25180/ ).
As for Olivia Stanley, I empathize with her. It’s undoubtedly difficult to be on the front page of the paper when she didn’t realize the gravity of her involvement in the article, when it wasn’t her fault to start with.
Elizabeth Vance • Oct 19, 2009 at 11:12 pm
In response to Inklings editor of three years:
As another former Inklings editor of three years, and very likely a former colleague of yours, I’m afraid I have to disagree with you. The authors represented both sides of the issue, and did a very nice job collecting a variety of sources and opinions. Since none of these opinions were their personal beliefs, I don’t really see how you can call it an Opinion. I would argue it could probably be categorized as a feature, but given it was published during football season, and therefore is timely, news was also a good fit.
Really good article guys. It was a legitimate issue, and you presented it superbly.
anonymous • Oct 19, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I agree with “Staples Kid..”
If the cheerleaders dont have a problem, and nor do the football players, what is the problem?
Inklings ruined a great tradition and bond between the two teams
HANNAH W. • Oct 19, 2009 at 4:03 pm
*** having football players and others dislike you. SENTENCE 5-6
HANNAH W. • Oct 19, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Who ever wrote this is not nice! This is an unfair thing to give to the student body to read because many people dont read the whole story through. The second students see her name they will immediately begin pointing fingers at her although the article clearly states that she had no problem with the baking situation. This is a proven fact because i was in many classes with students of all ages, and the second they read the article they started making rude remarks and comment. Being and incoming freshman is hard enough and having a group of football players and people at the school does not make life any easier. This article is targeting people who are clearly not involved in the problem at all, aside from their parents feelings. This is a situation strictly regarding the cheerleaders and baking for the football players should be a decision made by the cheerleaders ONLY. Being a cheerleader I am 100% aware that we are all independent individuals who can make chocies on our own and are completely capable of saying when we have a problem with something. This article is saying that baking is degrading however, implying that we cannot make our own decisions and feel obligated to do things we dont want to do is even worse. Information should taken by more than just one view of the story, and names should not be told for the safety of the individual and the reputation of the team.
Jamie • Oct 19, 2009 at 3:19 pm
interesting…Stanley(freshman) Gabbay(Inklings reporter); neighbors;coincidence….don’t think so!
Former Student • Oct 19, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I was an Inklings editor for 3 years, and the primary problem with this particular story is its placement. This is not a news article. It’s an opinion piece. It had no business being in the news section. With that said, I respect Inklings, but the biggest problem I had while on the staff as well as now is that at times, this paper tries to cause problems, not raise issues. This paper, at times, is agenda-driven, even in the news section, which is a problem. This point has to do with execution, not topic choice, and the main problem with this story’s execution was its placement.
So think of this story what you will, whether Olivia Stanely was humiliated, whether the article was poorly written, etc., but the glaring issue is that this is not a news story. Believe me, if this article were in the Opinions section, there would be less hoopla.
Staples kid... • Oct 18, 2009 at 8:24 pm
i feel like its completely rediculous that somebody who decides to join the “school newspaper club” somehow feels entitled to write an article that is nothing more than a failed attempt at investigative journalism. all that this article accomplished was to ruin a tradition that was happily supported by both parties involved: the cheerleaders and the football players. why any other parties such as inklings though it was necessary to intervene is beyond me, all they did was ruin a tradition that they had no right to be around in the first problem
investagitive journalism should INVESTIGATE problems. the writer of this article just CREATED a problem because he couldnt find one to begin with. there is a fine line between the two, and i think that the writer of this article should figure out the difference between the two before he writes his next article
inklings reader and staples student • Oct 18, 2009 at 3:05 pm
i feel that all this controversy is ridiculous. baking for a football player is completely optional and nobody is peer pressured into it. no one would ever say “you have to do it, everyone else does” the ‘pressure’ some were speaking of comes solely from the cheerleader herself because she may think others will care if she doesn’t bake. the sport of cheer leading was created to do exactly what the name says, lead cheers, bring up the spirits of the team and fans. if supporting a player by baking food for them is part of that spiritual uplifting then so be it. this was a tradition that has been carried on for many years and by joining the team, you voluntarily choose to put yourself out there as a supportive figure for the football and basketball teams. every team in school makes posters for each other, the underclassmen make signs for the seniors of their sport and hang them up on senior day. the decorative and festive things that the cheerleaders do is not in any way different than every other sport at staples high school. these girls are talented athletes and nobody disrespects that, this tradition was not set out to degrade anybody and should not be read into that much. as for the discussion about inklings covering this story- i feel they had every right to do so. these kids are extremely good writers, they spend so much time gathering their quotes, writing and editing these stories and it is unfair to say they shouldn’t have written this piece just because you disagree with it. petey and alex did nothing but investigative journalism and did not portray one side of the story unfairly, nor did they manipulate quotes of any kind. if they wrote purely about “positive” things, i honestly would not want to read the paper. the stories would not be interesting, and they would have very few things to write about. not everything in this world or this school is “positive” and if this paper is going to conutinue being as legitimate as it is, they should portray that as realistically as they have been. great job to everybody on inklings, and olivia stanley i hope you don’t feel victimized because that was not what these writers intended to make you feel.
Someone • Oct 17, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I think the article on the cheerleaders’ baking tradition is a legitimate topic of interest. If it was a gossip article, the words ‘sex,’ ‘hookup,’ ‘drinking,’ and ‘drugs’ probably would have appearred and someone would have actually been humiliated. Rather, this article explores the current logistics of the baking tradition and how parents and students feel about it. Personally, it seems that if the Olivia’s mother had been interviewed, Olivia would have known about it. i think it’d be weird otherwise…i mean who’s mom wouldn’t tell her daughter that she was interviewed by the school newspaper? AND the girl is quoted herself. I find it weird that she’d be embarrassed over something she knew was going to happen and agreed to being a part of herself. I also think this is a current issue as we no longer have the ‘ra-ra-sis-boom-ba’ cheerleading teams they had back in the ’50s that are parents are used to. women have much more rights and equality now so it may seem as a blast from the past to bake for the football team. However, I do think it’s a little drastic that the girls can’t bake anymore period and go-all-out creating signs for game day.
Anon • Oct 17, 2009 at 8:02 pm
This article raises questions for the Staples community– why is the school sanctioning one team being subservient to another? The soccer team doesn’t bake for the lacrosse team. The cheerleader-footballer dynamic, aside from being a cliche, is an issue of sexism. Cheerleaders and football players are both athletes, end of story.
Furthermore, since when does “tradition” make it okay? Numerous people, both cheerleaders and football players alike, remarked that despite complaints from parents and students, the baking stands because it is tradition. Denying women the right to vote used to be a tradition in this country. Clearly, the issues of equality baking and voting are not equitable, but I’m using the analogy to illustrate that “tradition” doesn’t come close to justifying the baking issue.
People can argue that quotes were “misinterpreted” or that the article targets its named subjects, but those issues aside, the article draws attention to the problems with the practice of cheerleaders baking for football players. The practice itself is what should be engaging the minds of the community, not the smaller issues surrounding the article.
anonymous • Oct 17, 2009 at 6:22 pm
” i dont think you were in any position to write this article, not being affiliated with either team”
Inklings is supposed to write about things they are not affiliated with, that is what reporting is. Writing about something they are part of is a conflict of interest.
an inklings reader • Oct 17, 2009 at 4:16 pm
stanley was not taken advantage of in the least. there is nothing incriminating in this article about her.
Sarah • Oct 17, 2009 at 4:15 pm
This article is NOT about Olivia Stanley!!!
It’s about examining different people’s viewpoints on an important issue. Nothing mean, rude, or unfair was said about Olivia Stanley, so people need to stop interpreting this article the wrong way.
luane • Oct 17, 2009 at 3:56 pm
olivia stanley is being unfairly treated. she was advantage of by a reporter. whoever wrote this article did not think of the consequences for Olivia Stanley.
Anonymous • Oct 17, 2009 at 9:42 am
In response to Inklings writing about “positive and information things and not gossip,” imagine if the New York Times only wrote about positive things….we wouldn’t know anything, people have a right to know what is going on, even if its not positive. Otherwise it defeats the point of journalism. Secondly this article was not gossip, but stating a fact of something that does happen at Staples. The article was not meant to sway people one way or another.
If you read the entire article you would see that Stanley had no problem with baking, it was her mother who had a problem with it which was clearly stated. People have no right to say the quotes were “manipulated and skewed to support one side,” unless you were at the interview, which chances are you were not.
Anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 8:29 pm
If Inklings was all about positive, informational things, it a more boring newspaper to many teens than it is. As stupid as it might be, stuff like this is more interesting to Staples Students than, say, the latest budget cut.
Also, Inklings obviously has concern for sports, and cheerleaders and the football team are definitely intertwined with school sports.
anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Yes they should write about things associated with Staples, but they should be positive and informational things and not gossip.
Anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Does cheerleading not have anything to do with Staples? Inklings writes about all things associated with the school, including cheerleading.
Anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Seeing as though inklings has no concern for the cheerleaders or the football team this article was not needed and is only addressing a pointless matter. The article is nothing but a page filler. Inklings should address the important things that have to do with Staples, and not with the traditions of cheerleading.
Not telling • Oct 16, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Inklings, clearly you guys suck if this is REALLY what your newspaper was focused on. Next time maybe you should go for the boys/girls soccer sleep over or players buddy gifts, both of which are nice, fun traditions similar to baking.
Try focusing on REAL issues rather than creating them in attempts to be “edgy”.
David • Oct 16, 2009 at 4:06 pm
“Anonmaly”– As you have clearly stated that you are not a professional writer or journalist, I do not think that it is your place to say that this article “is so clearly biased and the quotes are SO clearly taken out of context.”
I am not saying that the publication of this article was right or wrong, but you are in no place to say that the quotes were taken out of context unless you heard the interview yourself.
Anomaly • Oct 16, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Personally, I think the Inklings news article did not represent both sides fairly. While from an outside perspective it may seem chauvinistic, an inside perspective might show otherwise. It appeared that the “journalists” didn’t even attempt to get both sides of the situation. Also, this article was so clearly biased and the quotes were so clearly taken out of context.
I might not be a great writer or journalist, but I can tell as a reader when quotes are manipulated and skewed to support one side.
anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Inklings had no place in writing this article, having no real idea what is really going on but i cant believe you would humiliate a freshman girl like this. i dont think you were in any position to write this article, not being affiliated with either team and definitely are bringing down a reputation that the cheerleading team has worked so hard over the past few year. This is a school newspaper, not a gossip column and you really need to consider who might be affected by your articles next time. I have definitely lost respect for Inklings over this article.
David • Oct 16, 2009 at 3:55 pm
It does not sound to me like this article is “pinpointed” against the girl mentioned in the first few paragraphs. She clearly stated that she “had no problem with baking for her football player.” If you actually read the article, you will see that her mother is the one who has a problem with the tradition.
Anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I agree with the anonymous post. The poor girl had no idea that the article would be pinpointed at her. Inklings writers, you should really think about putting the feelings of your peers first before publishing your journalism.
Sally M • Oct 16, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I think that this article raises so many interesting questions. Obviously the community is completely split when it comes to this issue– if the cheerleaders don’t have a problem with it, then I think they should be allowed to do it. But no one should ever be forced to bake for a football player if they don’t want to.
My biggest concern is that I don’t think the football players treat the cheerleaders with as much respect as they should. It’s not easy or fun baking an entire cake when you have homework and other stuff to do…….they should thank the cheerleaders more than once a year.
Anonymous • Oct 16, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Sure Olivia Stanley didn’t expect to bake for a football player, but she didn’t expect to be humiliated by a school newspaper either.