Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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relationship between the football team and squad members also enhanced crowd par- ticipation. We ' ve learned a lot from the yell leaders that were fo otball players for NSU, yell leader Shawn Bailey said. Howard said. The crowd is responding to us well. Rachal said people in the stands are beginning to take notice of the yell lead- ing squad and are beginning to partici- pate. After all, we ' re all striving for the same goal— to make Northwestern a win- ner. Winston Howard and Jeff Rachal pre- pare to catch Lisa Lukowski as John Kingsley spots. Lisa Lukowski p repa res for the game by taping her ankles. She was one of several members of the squad that missed a few games due to injuries. John Kingsley, Shawn Bailey, Alaina Rushing and Lisa Lukowski cheer on the Demons. Vic the Demon receives a hug , from a young Demon fan. Yell Leaders 21

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Changes sweep across campus Yell leaders promote crowd participation The cheerlead- ing squad did not escape the wave of change that swept across Northwestern ' s cam- pus. Changes in- clude new cheers, new uniforms, an increase in members and new manage- ment. Placed under the direction of Bill Brent of Northwestern ' s mu- sic department, the 17-member squad is coached by Brad Ar- nold, Universal Cheerleading Asso- ciation instructor and is assisted by Barbara Hernandez, a local dance and gymnastics instruc- tor. According to Arnold, the squad changed the style of cheering to promote crowd participation and changed the name to yell leaders to accommodate the new style. The 1987-88 squad consisted of 13 women or pom-pon girls and four men known as yell lead- ers. Although the majority of the squad were first-time mem- bers, five of the women were on the 1986-87 cheering squad. Bill Brent, direc- tor of the band said, The spirit squad is improved over last year ' s squad. The new concept of crowd participation has been successful in bringing students and the team to- gether. They have a real touch of class in working with the band and fans. Yell leaders be- lieve the changes af- fected crowd partici- pation. From when I sat in the stands last year, the participa- tion in the crowd in- creased 100 percent, yell leader Jeff Rachal said. Other students have also noticed in- creased crowd in- volvement in sup- porting the Demons. I think there ' s been more support this year. Everyone used to go home on the weekends and now everyone seems to be staying for the game, Van Bush said. In addition to spending several hours a day practic- ing, many of the members are in- volved in a variety of campus activities including fraterni- ties, sororities, Stu- dent Government Association and Stu- dent Activities Board. Of the male mem- bers, Winston How- ard and John Kingsley are ex-foot- ball players. Yell leader Win- ston Howard said, The players know us and respect us, they know we know what they ' re going through and we want them to know we ' re behind them all the way. When you ' ve got 10,000 people yelling for you, you feel good about what you ' re doing and you get the job done. After the Arkan- sas State game, some of the football players took the time to tell us they could hear us cheering and it really meant a lot to me, yell leader Dayna Dooley said of the football team ' s reac- tion. The improved 20 YeR Leaders

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Spirits are high this year for the Spirit of Northwestern Marching Band. Everyone sees the band perform at football games, but how many really know what it is like to be a band member at Northwestern? The Northwestern Marching Band offers a great deal to its members in the way of scholarships, experience and just plain fun. However, with all the time and work involved in being a band member, one may wonder what it is that makes it worthwhile. Suprisingly enough, the main reason members enjoy the band so much and participate in it year after year is not just the money they get for it, but the friendship and joy of performing. Hank Ewing, a junior at Northwestern and band member since his freshman year of high school said, I enjoy going out on the field and performing in front of people and being a part of something that ' s good. Many of the members of the Spirit of Northwestern are music majors and have plans to become band directors, music teachers, or performers. For these people, playing in the band is part of their college education, and they tend to take it seriously. For non-music majors, fun and friendship play top roles in playing in the band. Freshman Scott McNeill said, Everyone clings together. Band is like a big family. When all the practice pays off and the band gives one great performance after another, there are rewards to be gained. The Spirit of Northwestern gets to travel with the football team and enjoy seeing new places. One junior who is a member of the NSU band said, I got to see the band mature. Each year it gets bigger and better! I ' ll miss it when I graduate next year. Members also said that they received a great amount of support from the football team this year, and . . . would love to have more crowd support. Bill Brent definitely has the respect and admiration of the members of his band. One member said, Bill Brent is a top band director and a consistent and patient recruiter. Northwestern supports the band and all its members for what they do for us. The marching band is truly th ' e Spirit of Northwestern! 22 Spirit of Northwestern