“Hola! Que Pasa … De Anza en LA CASA!” The loud and grammatically incorrect cheer rang through the stands during De Anza College’s football game against Los Medanos College Nov. 6. The De Anza Associated Student Body Senate’s Diversity and Events and Marketing committees planned a pre-game tailgate party to raise school spirit and get De Anza students pumped about sports.

“In past years no one gave much attention to the football team or sports in general,” said Diversity and Events Vice-Chair Mariam Azhar. “We really wanted to revive school spirit at De Anza. The coach told us that it was the first time there was a tailgate for quite a while.”

“The Senate at De Anza has never really crossed over to the side of athletics before. It’s the first time the DASB has reached out to the athletics department and many students/staff are very excited to have us get students active into their program,” Senate Intramural Officer Anmol Mirakhur said.  

One of the goals of the 2010-2011 Senate is to get De Anza students more involved in campus activities, particularly sports games.

The Marketing Committee is using different advertising mediums, but they are unhappy with the results. “We created and handed out fliers, talked to some clubs and outreached through word of mouth,” said Marketing Committee Chair Adam Coquia. “To be honest, we didn’t get anywhere near our expected turnout. It was very disappointing, and I feel at fault.”

“The good news is that those who were there had a great time, and our team played an amazing game,” Coquia said.  “It was a learning experience that the team will definitely take to heart.”

The committee discussed plans to improve their marketing strategy. “I’d say that next time we’ll just do everything we did, but 10 times harder,” Coquia said.

Jenn Samantha Uvira, Ismail Desouki, Brenden Fant and Ze Kenny Li line up with red De Anza letters painted on their stomachs. (Keith Hubbard)