Natalie Murphy

2017-2018 student section cheering on the Spartans at the ‘Hoops for Hope’ game.

The class of 2019 is no stranger to traditions and stereotypes established by previous classes. The most notable traditions are those appointed to the senior class.

Though specific lunch table assignments have been left in the past, others like the “senior bench” and the game day “bathroom rushes” remain. The common theme between the three is the type of leadership which the senior class chooses to step up to.

A tradition that is consistently run by the senior class is the involvement of students at sporting events. The most substantial student involvement is seen under the Friday night lights of football season due to an energetic group of students called Frontline. The Frontline consists of about 20 seniors who have the unwritten obligation to be the face of the student section and keep the energy high throughout the games.

Senior Megan Dague is a long-time supporter of both the boys and girls basketball teams. Dague remembered a great energy that surged through the bleachers when she was an underclassman. “When the stands are full, it really gets the players pumped up and also being in the stands, you are able to have fun,” she said.

However, this year has seen less turnout than in previous years, in football and many other sports. Although the volleyball team presented a talented lineup that would eventually share the MAC title and compete in playoffs, there was a consistently small crowd throughout the volleyball season. This lackluster student section set the tone for attendance for sports outside of football.

Frustration was not only seen by students in attendance, but also by the athletes on the court. As a veteran to both teams, senior varsity athlete Adrea Arthofer has held leadership positions in both volleyball and basketball. Arthofer explained, “It’s more frustrating when you hear people discrediting the games and they just plain don’t want to go. I don’t think people realize how hard we work–girls and guys–and especially when you have teams as good as ours, it’s crazy the lack of presence our student section has.”

The bareness of the student section continued into the winter sports season. Dague specifically recalled a spiritless, lowly attended Friday night girls’ basketball game against Assumption on Jan. 18. “There were maybe eight students there including me,” she said.

Of course, the members of the student section are exactly that: students.Tasks such as homework and work are excusable reasons for low attendance, but for how talented Pleasant Valley’s sports teams are, there should be more representation from the athletes’ peers.  This must start with the senior class and how they choose to use their position as leaders in the student body to support others. Arthofer believes in the importance of uplifting one another. “Whether that’s coming to the games or simply just knowing about how well our sports teams are doing, it’s a community, so we should be out supporting each other,” she said.