![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)
According to NBC News, one in three teenagers cannot afford menstrual products. In the past, they have been sold in district school bathrooms for 25 cents.
When students returned back to school Aug. 27, something was different in the girls’ bathroom. Pads and tampons were accessible from different machines that did not require any money. Girls hoping to use school provided products will now not have to pay any money in order to get them.
In 2024, Colorado passed Bill 24-1164, which requires free menstrual products in applicable school buildings by June 30, 2025.
Unnati Mishra ‘26 is Vice President of the Women’s Empowerment & Equality Club. The club discusses empowering each other and creating a safe space.
“Access to period products is something that is often overlooked in policy and decision making, so I believe this is a very large step in women’s rights,” Mishra said.
In the event of an emergency, girls need quick access to products. An easy, free and accessible machine alleviates the panic of bringing their own or making sure there is change on their person. Around 51% of the school’s population is female—about 1187 of students menstruate at school.
“If students ask for bandaids, they receive them without questions being asked. Same thing with tissues and other sanitary products,” Women’s Empowerment club leader Adriana Kayetch ’26 said. “All these things are normal yet periods are treated as unnatural in comparisons. Providing students with feminine hygiene products is no different than providing other necessities.”
Colorado is one of 15 states in the US that currently mandates free products within school bathrooms. Others are Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
This act also increases the chances of schools within certain districts to get the Menstrual Hygiene Products Accessibility Grant, which provides funding for free products for students from grade six to grade 12.
