Aaris

Louis R. Dumont; Carpenter & Rothans, for Las Virgenes Unified School District, Respondent.

YEGAN, Associate Justice.

Not so very long ago, a row of docile cheerleaders would say, "rah, rah, rah, sisboom-bah"—maybe a leg would kick up into the air, perhaps a jump under the cheerleader's own power. This would take the cheerleader a foot or so off the ground. That, however, was yesterday. Today, even appellant recognizes "... the acrobatic gymnastic nature of modern cheerleading." It is not unusual for modern cheerleaders to perform gymnastic stunts which may catapult a cheerleader many feet into the air. What goes up, must come down. This includes cheerleaders. Whenever gravity is at play with the human body, the risk of injury is inherent. While an appellate court has the power to change the law, we cannot change the law of gravity.

We sympathize with an injured cheerleader and any student injured while participating in extracurricular activities which are inherently dangerous. Such activities are, however, voluntary. There are benefits and burdens associated with such activities. Unfortunately, some students participating in such activities are injured. As we shall explain,…