Being part of a student section can be one of the best feelings ever. One gets to cheer for their team, and there is a general sense of togetherness and school spirit – except when every five minutes a student not from the school is ‘outed.’ This practice is in no way shape or form new, but it is very aggressive.  

While it is true students belonging to the school should have priority in seating, if the student is cheering for the same team, why get rid of them? Instead of kicking people out of the student section, shouldn’t the leaders be instead cheering for the game? Kicking out one person may not seem like a big deal, but when that happens every few minutes and the student actually leaves, it adds up and by the end of the game, our student section has lost a handful of people that could have contributed to the size and sound. Unless the visitor is rooting against our team, I see no issue with a non-eagle in the student section. There should not be outing at games at all unless the student is negatively impacting the energy, but if student section leaders are doing it, they should not hold exceptions for their friends because everyone in there is friends with a Central student; that’s the point of them being at the game. 

Obviously, outing people at games is not a huge deal, but it can be scarring on people and it gets a little awkward when the said outed person begins to cry. It is a bad look on our school when we ask for involvement in activities and huge student sections and then this happens. Those same students want to get rid of everyone that messes up a cheer or isn’t a student from that school. 

Apart from that aspect of school culture, student sections are a very important part of someone’s high school experience. When all the students dress up for the theme and chant at the same time, there is a sense of unity unbeatable by any other high school event. One sees their peers outside of class and meet some people they don’t even have classes with, providing a social aspect. By going out to a football game on a Friday night, students are staying out of trouble and instead supporting their school. 

If one is going to be stuck at a place for four years, they might as well make the most of it and try to enjoy the time they have there. After all, staying home or not participating in events like football games isn’t going to make the time pass any quicker.