While Harvard students all over campus are finally buckling down and working on their academics, one group of students has decided to get serious about something else.

For the first time in their 10-year history, Harvard's cheerleaders are taking steps to become more professional and earn the respect of athletes, fans and the Athletic Department.

Most of the 12-member squad say they agree that an image problem is the biggest obstacle facing the group. Since the cheerleading squad's formation in the late 1970s, it has been ridiculed--sometimes deservedly so, cheerleaders say--and has received very little official support from the University.

"At Harvard, it's very 'high school' to be a cheerleader," says Ellen M. Wrchota '89, a veteran member of the team. "In fact it seems like [people think it's] almost a contradiction in terms to go to Harvard and be a cheerleader."

"The biggest obstacle we face," adds squad member Kristin M. Daly '89, "is the image that all we want to do is date football players. It's seen as a very 'high school' thing to do."

The obstacles, however, go beyond the image problem. The squad of six men and six women does not receive full funding from the Athletic Department. As a result cheerleaders must pay many of their own expenses.

"All that they give us is a van with gas," Daly says. "We have to pay the rest out of our own pockets."

The rest, as the cheerleaders will tell you, includes accomodations for the away football games, food, sweats and uniforms. The uniforms alone cost around $200 for many of the members.

The lack of official support means that the cheerleaders have never had a coach and therefore have not been able to perform difficult routines. The squad's lack of expertise only hurts its image and last year resulted in a serious injury to one cheerleader, cheerleaders say.

But squad members say they are beginning to solve some of their problems. The Athletic Department has hired Katherine Wrend, currently a cheerleading coach at American University, to train the squad beginning this fall. The cheerleaders are also trying to improve by holding spring practice sessions, something they have never done before.

At their weekly sessions, squad members warm up and practice lifts. They will not attempt more advanced moves until next fall when their coach officially begins working with them.

"Kathy will be a big help next year," says Daly. "She will be able to teach us new routines and standard forms for the routines which we already do. Also, she has encouraged us to set our own personal goals for next year and to go to a camp this summer where we can train."

"Kathy will be great," says Wrchota. "She can help us be less of a high school cheerleading squad and help us look more professional."

"To bring in someone who knows about the techniques is great for us," says Millard Rice '89, a one-year veteran of the team, adding that he thinks the fans will notice "a major difference" in the talent of the squad in years to come.

Wrend's influence and the spring practices, according Daly, "mean that the squad should be better than [it has] been in past years."