![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
I am a cheerleader. I cheer for the football team at every game. But on Wednesday of next week, I won’t be. The boys will cheer, and the girls will play football. Powder-Puff football is a school tradition, but it is also sexist.
That is not to say it isn’t fun. Boys get to have fun cheerleading, and girls get a chance to show off their football talents. No matter how fun Powder-Puff is, however, it still supports stereotypes. Both boys and girls should be able to pursue what they are interested in anytime. We don’t—or at least we shouldn’t—need a specific day for boys to cheer and girls to play football.
I know our school is a very accepting community—male cheerleaders and female football players are accepted, even applauded. We’ve had both: been there, done that. We don’t need a special event to switch these gender roles; we’ve already broken them, so reinforcing the barriers just turns the clock back.
Of course Powder-Puff is just for fun. No one really takes it seriously. So why should I even care? I don’t have anything against fun. I love fun. But when a game helps to enforce stereotypes, even just a little bit, I want no part of it.
We should have just a spirit football game instead. A day for anyone—male or female—to take part in cheerleading and football. That way, anyone who wants to play football or cheer without the risk and season-long commitments will get a chance. We can still have a football game for spirit week; we just need to tweak the outdated and sexist format for the modern world. It will be just as fun, but revised for the contemporary society at school.
Why should we tell people they shouldn’t follow their dreams? If children grow up in a society where they feel they can’t be themselves, we can’t expect them to reach their full potential. After all, having an activity that revolves around breaking gender barriers only reasserts stereotypes. It tells people that it is a big deal if a girl plays football or a boy does cheer.
We can and should keep the spirit football game. We just need to alter the antiquated format of Powder-Puff into an equally fun yet less sexist football game.
