AKARAKACHING AKARAKA-CHO akaraka ching ching cho cho cho lalala sisbumba Yonsei sunsu lapula hey YONSEI yah! Am I casting a spell? Nope! Any Yonseian would soon have spotted that it is a catch phrase Yonseians shout when cheering. Cheering! A lot of universities have their own cheering cultures but are not developed as much as that of Yonsei University. Then, what would Yonseians think about this culture? Just for fun, this survey was conducted with Yonseians.
When cheer music starts, Yonseians jump, leap, bounce, and hop with excitement. What is the matter with them? They are Yonsei's cheer-oholics! Why are they so mad about cheering? This survey tells us that a dominant number of Yonseians (44) love cheering because they feel as one when they cheer altogether. Seeing almost all Yonseians cheering with the same movements and songs definitely makes people feel as if united. Besides, just look at the basic form of Yonsei cheers; basic forms such as putting arms around others' shoulder. The form links cheering Yonseians together.

Though most Yonseians love cheering, they surely won't be cheering whenever they walk down Baikyang-ro, will they? When asked On what occasion do you like cheering the most?, about half of the people (49) replied that they loved cheering at Yon-Ko Fete. Wait a minute. Is Yon-Ko Fete a "cheering" competition between Yonsei and Korea Univ.? Isn't it a healthy and sound sports festival? In some aspects, Yon-Ko Fete actually is a "cheering" competition since both universities' students cheer all day long. Moreover, cheering is a kind of sports, as you see.

Some students are very good at cheering. Those talented students are the secret weapons we have when we contend against Korea Univ. Do you want to join the secret weapon cheering club? To help you become a member of the club, the Annals asked if there were any secret to perform beautiful cheer movements. Surprisingly, quite a lot of students (38) said confidence was the key. Not useful information? Frankly, this is what our weapon is all about. Since it is not a tough fighting competition, what really matters is how confident you are. Your pride in Yonsei cheering will demoralize Korea University students and make them KITTENS, not a tiger!

Shh~. Let's calm down a bit in analyzing Yonsei's cheering culture. Here is a rational question. Is cheering culture perfect for everyone? Assuming that some people might face it with difficulty, the Annals asked, What are the things that makes it difficult for you to cheer? Before we tell you the results, let's make a guess. Will it be the difficult lyrics, forms, or ironically the rare unity? Upsetting results appeared. Many students (35) complained about the difficulty of cheering in small spaces. Since 26,000 Yonseians cheer together, the space each student has to cheer in is very small. Especially when we cheer at the Amphitheater, believe me, the goal is not to cheer but to step on other's feet.

Hmm…. Is this all the complaints that Yonsei students have about cheering? I don't think so. Think about the following circumstance when you need to read the cheer song wordbook THANKS to your lack of ability to memorize lyrics. And your still cheering in a narrow and sweaty place where everyone is aggressive in order to secure their space. Oh, oh! Are you the only one busy holding wordbook, following the Yonsei "Yell(cheer)" Leaders and securing your space to cheer? Thank god you are not alone. You have 22 friends feeling the exact same difficulty in memorizing the lyrics.
Before I go on, I need to remind you of the adage, "It never rains but it pours." What if one of the most difficult cheer songs starts? Let's say, based on your reply on question number six, "Dance QQ" or "September Christmas"perhaps? How did you cope when this kind of situation came along? For the question, How do you deal with the situation when you don't remember the gestures of those cheer songs?, most students (69) said they watched the Yonsei Yell Leaders and followed the movements they make. Yup, you probably have seen students starring at a place as if they were bewitched. Sometimes this happens to make them fall in love with the Yonsei Yell Leaders, although I am not sure if it is correct to say "fall in love WITH"-usually it is just falling right?

Ah ha! That is it. Those difficult forms were attributing to the popularity of the Yonsei Yell Leaders. Is difficult form the only reason that made them popular? Indeed, they are smart, good looking and also good cheer leaders! I guess they "deserve" the popularity anyway. Don't despair by saying that reality is not always fair for everyone. Let's accept the reality and be closer to the Yonsei Yell Leaders instead. To know more about them, the Annals asked, What do you want to know about the Yonsei Yell Leaders? Here are the questions and the answers follow. 31 students wanted to know how they compose the cheer songs and movements that well. It is said that they combine creative forms with several basic forms and complete a cheer song. Some (9) asked about the height of the Yonsei Yell Leaders' white high-heels; men's shoes are 5cm high and women's are 9cm high. Wow, you could kill someone with those heels. For students who asked about the Yonsei Yell Leaders' colorful uniforms (8), uniforms are said to be designed by number of excellent designers, and yes, Andre Kim is one of them. There were some students (7) craving for the Yonsei Yell Leaders' cell phone numbers. For your information, you might not be falling WITH them, as I said!

Yonseians eagerly anticipate the May AKARAKA! As a matter of fact, AKARAKA earned the second highest votes (25) from our survey question number two. Nevertheless, there may be some people who do not like the occasion. There may also be some who get frustrated due to the irritating behavior of rude people. Despite this reality, I can guarantee that cheering is the May delight which will be remembered as one of the most fascinating memories of our campus lives. Forget the serious problems that cheering culture has or evolves. Just for awhile, let's get all of our adrenalin pumped!