"shake a pompom"

Yes, I went to a workshop today - in the USC Hotel - at which all the tables were adorned with pompoms in USC colors.  We were exhorted to wave them if we wanted to make a point - needless to say, everyone found that their hands were quite good enough.  It was, in fact, the most useful workshop I've been to in my time at USC - on Strategic Faculty Hiring, and run by our chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Christopher Manning, who is super-smart and a historian by training - which helps - and focused on real, practical issues.  Even the share-with-your-neighbor exercises weren't embarrassing or pointless (and indeed, I imported a couple into the teaching practicum for new TAs that I teach on a Tuesday afternoon).  But the pompoms ...