The Ripon High School cheerleading team has wowed its audience with well choreographed, creative, and exciting dance routines over the years. Many still remember “The Purge” routine during halftime of the Modesto Christian game two years ago
While the cheerleading squad received positive reviews from students, they were surprised that some in the community were less than enthusiastic about it because of the violence depicted in their routine.
Cheer Coach, Alisha Vasche said, “The first time that we performed the routine the students loved it. However, we received several complaints from the opposing teams and the community because they felt it was too violent.”
The cheerleaders believe that their routine was arranged for the purpose of entertaining and bringing more spirit to the students of Ripon High.
“In my opinion, I thought the negative reactions were ridiculous. It’s a ‘Halloween’ based routine, of course we are going to make it scary and dramatic. I know a lot of the students liked it, and so did I. I believe that’s all that matters,” said senior Maiya Perez.
Junior Gracyn Adolfson said, “I understand some points for the routine being too ‘mature.’ However, parents need to realize that this routine is for the cheerleaders and high schoolers. If a kid is too young to watch a Halloween performance, then they are probably too young to be out that late.”
Many students were entertained by the cheer team’s performance and didn’t think their routine needed to be modified.
Junior Maci Herrin said, “I think the student section and all the kids loved it and it was sad when the cheer team had to change their routine.”
“Due to the nature of the theme, creepy music, and masks, many felt that it was not appropriate for a school event as it could be thought of as promoting violence,” said Principal Keith Rangel.
Although Ripon High’s principal agreed with the majority of the community that the cheer team’s performance was a little extreme for some people, he still appreciated the hard work that the cheerleaders put into their routine.
“The purge routine was very creative and showed a lot of talent by the cheerleaders. The skills performed obviously displayed that they practiced many hours, said Rangel.
The cheer team has opted to exclude any violence in this year’s dance in order to ensure that the routine is suitable for all audiences.
“This year we are making sure that the routine is leaning more towards creepy and spooky,” responded Vasche.
The cheer team is excited for their upcoming Halloween routine this school year, despite the negative comments they were given. Putting aside the incident that took place two years ago, the girls have high expectations for their next routine and are ready to put on their best performance.
“It’s my senior year and we are going above and beyond to make it the best it can be! I can’t wait to perform!” said Perez.
