As a result of threats against school safety, the Stranger Things rally was moved from its intended date of Friday October 28th, to Friday November 18th. The theme is Stranger Things, but some changes were made to the theme due to the safety concerns regarding guns on campus. Originally, students were advised to wear all black, to create a “blackout” effect to coincide with the Stranger Things theme, but the newfound concern of the legitimacy of the threat has caused some skepticism with the specifics of all students wearing black. 

The original idea was to have all students wear black with the lights off, but that opens concern for safety as students would not be able to be monitored as visibility would be low. The presence of any weapons at the rally would likely go unnoticed, so certain security measures are being taken to keep students and faculty safe.

According to campus security officer A. Molina the rally will now include “increased security and security guards patrolling the area,” as well as “law enforcement officials monitoring the campus.”

Rally organizer, senior Jude Hijleh, who is responsible for planning the rally  and overseeing the entire process by working directly with administration remarks that “we were not able to turn off 100% of the lights, only for performances, but for everything else we had to have some lights on to ensure everyone’s safety.” 

The rally was an academic rally which entails recognition of exceptionally proficient students including the AP High Five Society, Top 10 Seniors, Inspirational Scholars of the Year, Performing Arts Scholars of the Year, and Athlete Scholars.

Alongside the academic recognition; the rally showcases fun games and activities including musical chairs and the Bulldog spell out. The musical chairs game was a heated and intense competition between upper and lower class-men, the winner was sophomore Ryan Khoo. 

The rally games were of course followed by the Bulldog spell out, a time old tradition at Ayala rallies, which is always the perfect way to end with a form of school spirit. 

Despite the initial scare and panic that followed the threat of gun violence, the rally still had a lot to offer to the school spirit and was a great way to send off students before break!