![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)
During Seminar on Tuesday, Feb. 4 the Unified basketball team held their annual game against teachers – this year’s opponent was the English department – the Alliteration All-Stars.
“[coming into the game,I felt] nervous at first,” Carmen Rogers ‘27 said. “But it was fun.”
Other teammates had felt similarly, “[I felt] pretty good, happy,” Mark Larson ‘25 said.
The scoring started with a turnover by the Alliteration All-Stars that was taken down the court by John Gunther ‘25 to make the score 2-0.
It wasn’t until English teacher Bryan McBride, accompanied by a chorus of boos from the crowd, scored with six minutes 16 seconds remaining in the first that they found the scoreboard, at which time it was already 10-2 Jags.
At the end of the first half the score was 24-4 Jags, so the team went into the second feeling “pretty hyper, waiting to get in,” Larson said.
Much like the beginning of the game, John Gunther ’25 opened up the scoring in the second half with another steal taken down the court, quickly followed by a bucket off a rebound by Steve Abram ‘26, with the seniors on the team Leanne Makzum ‘25, Mark Larson ‘25, Sam Dizmang ‘25 and John Gunther ‘25 leading the way.
The Unified Jags beat the Alliteration All-Stars 44-8.
“It was fun, I will say that,” Kapali Tam Sing ‘28 said. “It was unique as well.”
Tam Sing ‘28 stated he would rate the English department’s performance a two out of ten.
“At least they made a couple of baskets,” Tam Sing said.
Throughout the game, the crowd was cheering for the Unified Jags, and anytime they scored, the energy in the crowd and all the people cheering made it very memorable and entertaining,” Ishaan Asthana ‘28 said
The Unified team will play again next year, and they play other high schools throughout the year, just as our JV and Varsity teams do.