Fridays usually bring to mind football games and the end of the school week. But this Friday is different. This Friday is sectionals, one of the most important games of the year.

Despite the excitement of sectionals, though, the stands of Hare Chevy have also seen their share of controversy this season. But the student section leaders are working towards overcoming the conflicts they’ve faced this year.

When the student promotion video aired in August, some students noticed the lacked female representation. This has lead some students to believe that girls are not allowed or encouraged to be student section leaders, but girls can be—and already are—leaders. However, more girls were not involved until the controversy began.

“It’s frustrating because I don’t know who gave the boys power to decide who’s allowed in it and who’s not,” senior Emma Fuller said. “If we want all the grades to be involved and an active part of the student section, then the leaders have to be flexible and encouraging to everyone […] Being flexible and encouraging starts with letting girls in and setting that example.”

In the beginning of the school year, only one girl was involved with leading the student section; later on, more girls became involved, according senior student section leader Connor Mills.

“I, myself, I need to work on that [including girls] to make sure that people don’t misinterpret what we’re doing, I don’t want anyone to get that vibe,” Mills said. “We’re definitely not just a group of guys because we want everybody to show up to the games, and make it an event for the whole school, not just guys of course.”

This year, multiple girls are participating in leading the student section. Seniors Elle Palmer, Hannah Potter and Emma Fuller are student section leaders.

“I’ve always been involved, I even made our first promo video,” Palmer said.

There is no direct process to become a leader, but everyone can be involved according to Mills, Palmer and Potter.

“If you want to be in [student section leading] you can, nobody is going to say yes or no,” Potter said. “[Student section leaders should be] people that show up to games, are loud, and have fun.”

The student section leaders are responsible for organizing tailgates, running the Twitter account (@gomillers17), picking themes for games, and creating a fun environment for NHS students at sporting events.

“Our mission is to make it as fun as possible, and make it an event that people want to be at every single week regardless of what they’re doing,” Mills said.

Seniors who are interested in becoming more involved with the student section can contact any student section leader to find out more information.

“The more help we can get, the better we are as a student section and that’s ultimately the goal.