![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)
A Fierce Debate: Facts and Perspectives on Wearing Masks in School
media by Grace Uhrain
A timeline shows events in DCSD surrounding masks and COVID outbreaks.
November 19, 2021
Imagine every person in the Denver Metro Area gathered in one place. Millions of people, millions of views. Each of these people has a unique perspective. Think about one issue, masks in schools. Think about all the perspectives that must exist.
One decision exemplified one of these perspectives. On Sept. 7, Douglas County separated from Tri-County Health, according to the Denver Post. Adams County has also left Tri-County Health.
This has led to a ripple of effects, including Douglas County School District (DCSD) going against the newly formed Douglas County Health Department and mandating masks in schools on Sept. 1. According to 9News, DCSD is suing the Douglas County Health Department on behalf of students with a higher COVID-19 risk.
A group of parents of higher risk students is suing Douglas County Health Department alongside DCSD. According to the Denver Post, DCSD and the parents are claiming that Douglas County Health Department orders violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Some students believe that the new Douglas County Health Department is not making decisions based on science.
“I think it’s a bad idea because there aren’t any doctors in it and the new one is just ‘we don’t want to wear masks,’” Sophia Bobier ‘24 said.
However, others believe that the Douglas County Health Department is doing the right thing.
“I think people should be able to make their own decisions and decisions shouldn’t be made for them,” Carson Szilagyi ‘24 said.
According to the Highlands Ranch Herald, a judge extended the ability for DCSD schools to require masks for another 14 days Nov. 8.
CDC guidance states that people who are fully vaccinated should still wear masks indoors if they live in an area with higher transmission or are more at-risk from COVID-19. In Douglas County, the CDC states that community transmission is high and suggests wearing a mask indoors. The two week positivity rate is 10.8%, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
In the past two weeks, there have been three outbreaks in Douglas County Schools, with a total of 54 cases, the majority at Stone Mountain Elementary. The weeks of 10/29 and 10/22 had no COVID outbreaks.
There have been no outbreaks at Rock Canyon.
According to DCSD data, the week of Oct. 15, a week after Douglas County Health declared students could have mask exemptions, had five outbreaks. There were no outbreaks the week of Oct. 29 after masks were reinstated on Oct. 26, however, the week of Nov. 5 saw two new outbreaks.
