![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)
#Included: the Lunch Club
Take a closer look into the Lunch Club and their goal to make sure that nobody sits alone during lunch.
October 3, 2020
Amidst the quiet halls, there’s a bustling in Mrs. Seaquist’s room during lunch. Students sit in a circle in the center of the room next to the desks. They begin to unpack their lunch and talk amongst themselves. The light-heartedness of the room creates a warm atmosphere where there are smiling faces and laughter fills the halls. This is the Lunch Club.
The Lunch Club meets every Wednesday during B lunch and Thursday during A lunch. (Lunch periods are subject to change at semester.) Wednesday’s club meetings are held in room 9700 and Thursday’s club meeting are held in room 4126.
“The Lunch Club is important because they listen to a voice that’s aching to be heard, it gives freedom to be open creatively in thought and also it gives nothing but love and support,” co-president Camden Piper ‘21 said.
The club was founded on the principle of kindness.
“I always hated seeing people sit alone,” club founder, Maddy Zilligen ’20 said. “When I had the courage, I asked if they would sit with me. They didn’t always take the offer. My voice coach, with whom I am very close, told me about her son who ended up walking the halls or sitting in the bathroom. He was all alone. I was not about to watch that happen in my school.”
Lunch Club is a home at school that offers constant love and support celebrating each other’s victories and happiness. They describe themselves as family with the sole purpose to be there for each other, offer their hands in help, and give people a place to go during lunch.
“The Lunch Club is important to me and I believe it will be for a lot of people because it gave me my voice back and I finally gained some color in my life. While dealing with my depression, it seemed like everyone, even the ones who had the same interest[s] as me saw me as someone who wasn’t worth anything. When I moved and confronted my issues, I was still distant and my trust in people was low,” Piper said. “It didn’t matter how I looked, how I was viewed or how I said that one thing. Regardless of what I’ve said, they accepted it and for the first time in my life I’ve met real genuine people.”
To be a member of the club, all students need to do is show up. There is no sign up required and nothing you need to do but be yourself.
Check out the club’s website and social media.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFRAl1jnj7e/?igshid=tz4qg0iuhkjg
We are here for you. Friendly reminder that our club is a chance to make friends and combat social anxiety. If you ever had suicidal urges come to our meetings or message us via any platform. We will always respond and extend a hand for you. https://t.co/6JVwJuxe9g
— Rock Canyon Lunch Club (@rclunchclub) September 10, 2020