![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)
What’s the Deal with ThesCon?
media by Matthew Fink
Andrew Dupper ’22 sings “If I Can’t Love Her” from Beauty and the Beast for his musical solo individual event Dec. 12. Dupper, like many others, performed in front of a couple of judges to be considered to qualify for nationals and for a chance to be a main stage performer.
December 20, 2019
You may be asking, “Why were a lot of people wearing those thespian windbreakers?” or “Why is everybody talking about ThesCon?” Well, it’s because, Dec. 12-14, members of the Rock Canyon Thespian troupe 7206 went on a trip to Denver, Colorado for an annual convention called ThesCon. Every year, thespians all across Colorado travel to Denver in order to experience a weekend of sessions, performances, and individual events.
At ThesCon, over 600 people competed in a musical solo IE (Individual Event), including one student at RCHS, Andrew Dupper ‘22. Dupper sang “If I Can’t Love Her” from Beauty and the Beast for his IE.
“I was pretty nervous about how it was going to go and at the start, I didn’t really feel that confident, but after I got started I started to gain a lot of confidence,” Dupper said regarding his IE. “I would say I’m looking forward to more IE’s because now I know kinda what to expect and I can better prepare myself for them.”
Although many people performed IE’s at ThesCon, many also performed in other challenges. One challenge, in particular, was the tech challenge, a challenge where techies compete in multiple different tech-related challenges such as the: light hanging, stage taping, and costume changing. One student, Trinity Hennessee ‘21, performed in the tech challenge.
“[The Tech Challenge] was stressful because I was watching and looking at other people do the challenge possibly better than me,” Hennessee said.
Alongside many competitions, two main stage performances were performed by other schools: Matilda and Kid Simple: a Radio Play in the Flesh. Rifle High School in Rifle, CO performed Matilda and Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs, CO performed Kid Simple: a Radio Play in the Flesh.
“Both the plays were unique and it was interesting to see how other schools’ theatre programs were,” Dupper said.
By the end of ThesCon, the dr earned 22 individual qualifications to the national level, a second place for the improv team, a one-act that made the final chapter select showcase, and the best overall film (made by Kameron Fisher ‘20 and Liam Conaty ‘20).
“I think that Rock Canyon deserved all of these awards because from my time at Rock Canyon I learned that RC students put their hearts into everything on-stage and off,” DJ Crawford, a former member of RC Drama, said. “I watched many performances that were recorded from this year’s ThesCon, and it further solidified my belief in Rock Canyon’s theatre program.”
For more information on ThesCon and Thespians, visit cothespians.com