Pusan National University (PNU)’s cheerleading team “Pinale,” founded in October 2024, is facing difficulties even before its very first activity of the new semester. It is all because both the General Students’ Association (GSA) and Head Offices have officially stated they cannot accommodate the cheerleading team’s support requests.

“Pinale,” established in October 2024 as PNU’s official cheerleading team, was initiated as a campaign promise by last year’s GSA, P:New. However, the team faced challenges from the very start. A report from August 30th by “Channel PNU” said the official recruitment for the team captain didn’t happen until August, though discussions began in January 2024, which is seven months prior. Despite not being officially registered as a special organization under the GSA, the team received a certain amount of budget through written approval from the suspended second-half Assembly of National Hyowon Representatives in September 2024, causing procedural controversy (reported by “Channel PNU” on November 28th, 2024).

The biggest current issue surrounding the cheerleading team is the essential budget for their first activity. According to the team, they are in need of cheerleading uniforms which cost between 0.8 and 1.2 million each, and shoes costing 100,000 won per pair. With eight current team members, they need at least 7.2 million won to cover their expenses. This amounts to half of last semester’s entire GSA budget of 15 million won. Regarding this, the 57th GSA “Around Us” (current GSA) says they cannot provide support. GSA President Choi Su-In (Dept. of English Language and Literature, 20) stated, “I’m not sure if the cheerleading team was promised budget support with the former council,” adding “As they’re a special organization under the GSA, we can provide some support, but not as much as requested.”

The Division of Student Affairs, which supports GSA activities, also expressed reluctance about supporting the cheerleading team. The team reportedly requested benefits including scholarships, volunteer hours, and academic credits - similar to official university organizations under the Division of Student Affairs such as the university admissions PR team “PIOOM” and ambassadors “PURM.” The Division of Student Affairs responded, “While we can review and discuss the cheerleading team’s budget if requested by the GSA, we have to consider fairness with other student clubs since they’re not an official organization.”

According to the Division of Student Affairs, if the cheerleading team became affiliated with them, they would need 200 million won annually including scholarships and operating costs, but this is difficult due to overall university budget cuts. The Division of Student Affairs also stated, “There is a fixed allocation for scholarships, so providing scholarships to the cheerleading team would require taking a certain amount away from other organizations.” They also clarified that they have no plans to make the cheerleading team an official organization under their office like PIOOM and PURM, making these requests practically impossible to fulfill.

These requests reportedly stemmed from verbal promises made by the former GSA. Team Captain Shin Yoon-Jeong (Dept. of Food and Resource Economics, 22) said that the former GSA President Lee Chang-Jun had expressed desire to provide benefits like scholarships and volunteer hours, if possible, during the team’s establishment process and that such requests were made based on that conversation. Team member Jo Young-Eun (Dept. of Animal Science, 21) added that Lee had also discussed uniform support and collaboration with the Lotte Giants.

With these issues arising before the cheerleading team’s first activities, criticism has emerged that the former GSA implemented campaign promises rashly. The GSA’s inability to handle the team’s initial budget should have been foreseeable during the establishment process. The Division of Student Affairs stated, “While the team’s purpose of promoting school spirit is good, it’s realistically impossible.” Current GSA President Choi also noted “The cheerleading team may not be able to operate smoothly from the start, but still, it is unrealistic.” The former council’s rushed promise implementation has left the current GSA, cheerleading team, and Head Offices with a multi-million won problem to solve.

With initial budget allocation uncertain, the cheerleading team is in a difficult position. When news of the team’s establishment spread last year, many members disbanded their existing cheerleading club “Pluming” to join. Captain Shin, formerly of “Pluming”, expressed regret: “If we had continued ‘Pluming,’ we could have registered as a central club this year, and our skills would have been much better without months of practice gaps.” She added, “Currently, since wearing cheerleading uniforms is realistically difficult, we’ll rent uniforms for performances.”

The cheerleading team plans to give their first official performance at the PNU’s entrance ceremony.

Reporter Hwang Ju-Won

Translated by Thadar-Soe