The first pep rally of the year took place on Thursday, September 20th, in anticipation of the Homecoming Dance that Saturday. At the rally, there were dance performances by Canyon’s song, cheer, and dance teams, as well as several sports teams, including football, girl’s golf, and boy’s water polo.

The Homecoming princes and princesses from each grade were announced at the rallies. The freshman prince and princess were announced as Zachary Myers and Nyrie Conti. Chris Catahan and Jade Picco won the sophomore titles. Blake Banuelos and Chandler Linn were the junior prince and princess. From the senior class, the nominees for Homecoming King were walked down a red carpet by the nominees for Homecoming Queen. Julian Milan was announced as the winner of the crown, holding more votes than contenders Sameer Abdullah, Keanu Abassi, Luke Fischer, and Shaya Baback. 

Students were encouraged to wear Tribe gear to the homecoming rally and free “White-Out” shirts were given out to the crowd to wear at Friday’s Homecoming Game.

When asked if they would change anything about the pep rally, Ashlyn Park and Nazanin Iranzamini, both seniors, said they would have wanted it to be more spirited. One teacher commented that “there were too many performances and not enough chants.” Although the crowd did cheer often, there were several moments of mostly quiet spectating–however, performances are also viewed favorably, with those 

interviewed especially liking the dances of The Company and Song.

Some speculation about the legitimacy of the homecoming election arose soon after the pep rally, some claiming that it was rigged. However, students who allege that it was manipulated to favor ASB often times did not even vote, according to one member of ASB. Of those interviewed, two voted for Luke Fischer. They still did not think the election was rigged, with one commenting that “people are being sore losers.”

The belief that the election was rigged is making some who were previously uninvolved in the process question it as well–Tina Malek and Andrea Barrientos, both seniors, did not vote and were unbiased on the election, but when asked what they thought they said that they weren’t sure if the election was fair or not.