Point Park University’s Spirit Week was an effort to increase school pride and showcase the athletic team’s achievements.  The cheerleading squad saw this as a golden opportunity to highlight their talents and define their purpose on campus. “Being [cheerleaders], we’re ambassadors of school spirit,” said Julian Singleton, a freshman biology major and cheerleader.The pep rally on Monday night acted as the kick-off event.  This was the second consecutive pep rally and the cheerleaders sought improvement.  The squad was the first to perform at this event, held on the fifth floor of the Student and Convocation center.  An overall satisfaction with their performance seemed to be the trend from the squad.”We were more prepared than last year.  We stunted this year when last year we didn’t”, co-captain Alicia Lyons, a junior broadcasting major said. “We were able to raise more spirit from the crowd.”In addition to the cheerleaders’ performance, the night held games and introductions from many of the athletic teams. Co-captain Myrandah Staub wished she could have had a bigger role in the planning.”I think because it started at eight, it was a big factor of why not as many people showed up. Also, it was planned in the past three weeks,” said Staub, a junior sport, arts and entertainment management major. As the week progressed, more events took place such as Point Park’s Got Talent and the Spirit Week photo booth.  However, despite the title of Spirit Week, the cheerleaders were only asked to participate in the pep rally.”We helped with the commercial for [Campus Activities Board] but we weren’t really invited to anything else,” Staub said.Despite their feelings on how the week went, the cheerleaders feel this effort to increase school spirit is a necessity.  Lyons helped start the squad her freshman year from scratch and sees the improvement.”When Myra and I started the cheerleading team, we went to a basketball game and there were four students there,” Lyons said. “I think some people thought it was a lot more of hassle to go to games.  Now, we have things like the school spirit committee and the fan vans.”As the school spirit improves, so does the cheerleading squad.  Last year, in their second year of existence, the squad was asked to attend the men’s basketball playoff game.  Also, they were invited to the end of the year athletic banquet. The team went from wearing T-shirts and shorts in their first year to upgrading to official uniforms last year. However, struggles still continue and Lyons wishes to see more support.”Not many people know this, but we pay for our own transportation to all of the games.  We’re not a club on campus and we’re not part of athletics.  We kind of just float around,” Lyons said.The cheer team began this year with a unstable start as they looked low on numbers.  In a recruiting effort, a few of the cheerleaders went door-to-door in the residence halls to gain some interest.  This strategy worked as the majority of their squad is comprised of freshmen. Singleton is one of these, but remains the only male on the team.”The girls are great to get along with, but I just wish there were more guys because we need them,” Singleton said. “Especially for stunts, there are things we can only do with guys.”Programs such as Spirit Week and the highly popular fan vans all benefit the same mission the cheerleaders are trying to accomplish.  Staub believes these are needed at Point Park to create diversity.”Because this school focuses so much on the arts, I think we help make it aware that we do have spirit here,” Staub said.