Tufts is not known for its school spirit. Attendance at sporting events is often sparse, and the attitude of the student body toward Tufts athletes is often viewed as apathetic.
One critic, freshman cheerleader Nadia Exama, puts it bluntly. "We need a lot more school spirit on campus," she said.
The Tufts cheerleading team, under a new coach for this season, is doing all that it can to try and change the prevailing attitude. The Jumbo squad has been infused with new blood this season, with a new coaching staff and a team that is comprised of 60 percent freshmen.
"Having a young team is actually a good thing," freshman cheerleader Elizabeth Sutton said. "We're all enthusiastic, and having a lot of freshman provides a strong base for the program. In four years we will have so much experience."
The new coaching staff includes Tufts graduates Erika Beam LA '99 and Anna Wong LA '01, and 1997 Appalachian State University graduate Amy Welch. All bring youthful enthusiasm to the cheerleaders.
"They're great," Sutton said of the coaches. "The head coach and one assistant both went to Tufts so they know how things work around here. They are also all young and energetic."
The appeal of cheerleading is, for most of the freshmen, carried over from high school days.
"I really enjoyed dancing all my life," said freshman Jade del Castillo, a cheerleader during all four years of high school. "And I decided that I wanted to try something more competitive. "
Exama took a different route from Castillo. She performed in the color guard at Brockton High School, but decided to make the jump to cheerleading in college.
"I'm a big college sports fan and I want to support Tufts," Exama said. "I talked to the assistant coach before I came and she said that it was okay that I didn't have previous experience."
The team performs at Tufts football games in the fall, and men's basketball games in the winter. The team also incorporated women's basketball into its schedule this season. In addition to patrolling the sidelines at Tufts sporting events, the cheerleaders are working on a trip to the National Championships for next season.
While both seasons have their pros and cons, the winter season has a couple of advantages.
"I think I like basketball better," Castillo said. "The crowd is more involved and it's not as cold out."
"I've always liked basketball," Sutton said. "I came from a small high school where there was no football team."
Both the fall and winter squads - most of the cheerleaders are members of both - follow a similar training regimen. Practices run four days a week for two hours and team members are also expected to follow a lifting or running program on the side.
Cheerleading is a somewhat interesting choice as an extracurricular at Tufts, given the school's Div. III status and small student body, but there are many advantages that cheering on the Hill has over larger schools.
"It's interesting because its D. III," Sutton said. "But it is nice because it doesn't take up as much time as it would at other schools. At a bigger school, you wouldn't have the freedom to do anything else.
Sutton herself is evidence of that assertion. In addition to being the freshman class president, she also serves on the Programming Board and the Spirit Coalition.
This opportunity to change the stereotype of the vacuous, gum-snapping, pom-pom girl is a good reason to cheer at Tufts, but it isn't the only one.
"It's a really great group of girls," Castillo said. "It's a great sense of accomplishment when you work hard on something that nobody else would do. And to get to share it with the others is great.
"My favorite thing is just revving up the crowd," Exama said.
As for Jumbo fans and their supposed passivity, the team believes that it can turn them around.
"I think the crowd lately has been more into the games, and more impressed with us. It's a priority of ours."
