Alyssa Synakowski, Sports Features Editor, @synakowsk
First appears in print on September 18, 2014.
Students that study hard until it comes to game time and the moment to support their team accentuate college athletics.
They deck out in anything that represents their school or even paint themselves. It does not matter if it is for football in the snow or for a basketball game in a humid gym, because these students have pride in their college teams.
UVU is no exception to the madness that is student-cheering sections at college athletics; we have the Mighty Athletic Wolverine League.
The MAWL benefits listed on their website state that students are given a free T-shirt, admission to every regular season NCAA home game with the MAWL Sports Pass, free food at tailgate parties before games and monthly giveaways. Joining the loud student section costs just $15.
With so much offered for such a small price, there is still a low enrollment rate. There are currently only about 200 students who have joined with only 150 actively involved and going to activities.
Many students just don’t care. Out of 97 students interviewed on campus, the majority gave excuses that they would rather watch BYU, are too busy with school, too busy with work; they feel like UVU is not important enough. If that is the case, why come to UVU?
“The whole purpose of the MAWL is to create school pride,” said Zach Trujillo, MAWL president. “When students have more school pride, it’s been proven that they perform better in school, they take pride in their university.”
Trujillo’s goal is to inform everyone this year of what the MAWL is. There will be an increase of advertisements in every medium available, ranging from social media to flyers posted everywhere in hallways to presence at all club rushes.
At a university that counted 33,395 enrolled students in 2011, you would think it is easy to make friends, but it is actually quite the opposite. Of those 97 students interviewed, nearly half of them said it was hard to find friends here because there are so many students that they feel lost.
Also, not all students like sports, specifically 22 of the 97 could care less and do not want to join the MAWL for that reason, but there is more to the UVU student cheering section than just an interest in sports. The club cheers on student government and student alumni activities.
The whole point of the MAWL is to support the university, the campus, the students and the athletes by bringing people together to take pride in creating a better communal environment.
“It’s just something that (students) can come to after school, after classes to leave a little less stressed and feel at home and have an opportunity to make friends as well,” said Trujillo.
In what may be an uphill battle to achieve that goal, the MAWL’s hope this semester is to finish with 1,000 total members to stand together as they sing the UVU fight song at games and activities across campus.
Students can find a new home in the MAWL and sing, “Stand Up and Cheer Mighty Green, We are the Proud Wolverines.”
