![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)
Coding A New Future: the Creation of Computer Science Honor Society
A glimpse at one of the school’s newest honor societies: Computer Science Honor Society.
![Sameer Arora ‘23 works on a computer in Chris Cassic’s classroom during access Sept. 22. Cassic teaches AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, and engineering, which can qualify students for Computer Science Honor Society. “Students will be able to apply if they [are taking] a computer science class right now,” Arora said. “We'll be advertising our honor society within the AP computer science classes.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/4658BC34-6DB4-4E6A-BF63-1AA4233ED1B2-e1664932740571-900x792.jpeg)
media by Grace Uhrain
Sameer Arora ‘23 works on a computer in Chris Cassic’s classroom during access Sept. 22. Cassic teaches AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, and engineering, which can qualify students for Computer Science Honor Society. “Students will be able to apply if they [are taking] a computer science class right now,” Arora said. “We’ll be advertising our honor society within the AP computer science classes.”
October 5, 2022
Booleans, algorithms and conditionals. Commands are typed into a computer, then the computer executes the written code.
Imagine a forum to share and collaborate on a common interest in computer science. The newly formed Computer Science Honor Society (CSHS) hopes to create a space for students to learn more about computer science and pursue unique opportunities relating to careers in computer science. The honor society is chartered by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), a national organization that provides guidance and program management for local chapters.
“There’s a lot of subjects here. Computer sciences are growing. I think there’s a large community here that doesn’t really have a society, [but there is a] history honor society [and] science honor society. So I thought it was a good opportunity to fill the gap,” President Sujay Potlapelly ‘23 said.
Computer Science Honor Society will open applications for the first time at school Oct. 24. Students who are currently taking any computer science class are eligible to apply.
The inspiration for the honor society was a hope to provide more in-depth experience in programming.
“We have three [computer science] classes, but those mostly touch within the AP area, and they don’t go that in-depth to actual programming. And so we actually wanted to start an honor society [for] a lot of people to get more in-depth with programming,” Co-Founder Johann Schmidt ‘24 said.
The Computer Science Honor Society officers want to give students who excel in computer science a chance to pursue further opportunities both in the community and in the field of computer science such as hackathons, which are conventions of computer programmers all working together on a certain software project, according to Rasmussen University.
“We think it’s important for people who excel in computer science to participate in an honor society so they can prove to other people what they know,” Schmidt said. “And also so they can get better working with other students who are also good at computer science. By competing with other people [in events] like hackathons, it’s a really good chance to improve your skills and build out a portfolio of work.”
The honor society also hopes to serve the community through knowledge of technology.
“For the first year, we hope to perhaps work in the library to help some kids out with technology, and help some seniors out as in senior centers or nursing homes. We’d love to help them out with their technical problems,” Vice President Sameer Arora ‘23 said. “And we were also thinking of introducing some other service projects to the school. But generally, our focus is going to be centered around providing computer science service projects.”
In addition, the officers have a goal to bring together more computer science students in Colorado.
“We’re planning on doing a state committee or state meeting. Cherry Creek [High School] just made their first computer science honor society, so we’re hoping to collaborate with them and do a state convention,” Potlapelly said.
The Computer Science Honor Society meets quarterly in math teacher Grace Nishida’s room, 9300. For more information, check out the honor societies page on the school website.