Pom squad gathers to rally support

Two weeks ago, members of the IU pom squad received e-mails notifying them that their 40-year-old organization would cease to exist at the end of the year, but Thursday night, the women said they plan to fight the decision.\nEight of the 14 members of the squad gathered in the Alpha Omicron Pi living room Thursday night, piecing together a plan of action.\n"Right now, we're just trying to rally support from students and fans and alumni," sophomore Devon Goudge said.\nMembers of the squad have spent the last two weeks talking to administrators, alumni, student organizations and other Big Ten schools seeking support and advice on how to get their squad back. Their petition, at www.petitiononline.com/IUPoms/petition.html, had garnered 1,461 signatures as of press time, including students, alumni and faculty members. After doing their research and rallying support, the women said they plan to request a meeting with IU President Adam Herbert, rather than going to Athletics Director Rick Greenspan.\n"With all of the issues of hiring the new men's basketball coach, we feel like we would have a better chance by going to the president," said captain \nLauren Dickey, a senior.\nSome of the supporters who signed the petition left comments, saying the pom squad, which dances at halftime and competes regularly, is an important part of the basketball experience.\n"I stay in the stands at basketball games through halftime for the sole purpose of watching the Indiana pom team perform and would hate to see the tradition and spirit of this team end," said IU student Michelle Anderson, next to her signature on the petition.\nGoudge said she has spent the last couple of weeks calling other schools that have pom squads, trying to find out how their teams are financed and if the pom and cheerleading squads are separate or the same team. At the meeting, members divided up a list of student organizations, assigning each member a few groups to approach and ask for their support. Goudge said members of the team have collected letters of support from alumni, and if granted a meeting with Herbert, plan to prepare a presentation to plead their case.\n"Some people come to this University specifically for poms without even knowing their majors," Dickey said at the meeting, while others nodded their heads in agreement.\nWhile those at the meeting all agreed they wanted to fight to keep the squad, Dickey said they are not even sure why the program is being cut in the first place.\n"The confusion comes from the different answers people get when they ask why," she said. "It goes from financial reasons to our appearances at games, but it's never been a straight answer."\nAt the meeting, Goudge said the squad's main goal is to convince the University that it needs a dance team, and that the pom squad is different from cheerleading. Currently, Dickey said, the pom squad, the Cream squad and the Crimson squad all make up one team.\n"What we would like to do is bring the team back, but maybe have it as a separate team," Dickey said.\nDickey stressed her belief that both a dance team and a cheerleading squad are necessary, saying nearly every other Division I school has both.\n"This team is very unique," she said. "We cheer, we dance and we do a lot for this University behind the scenes. A lot of girls aren't coming to IU next year because this team isn't going to be around"