Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was a cornucopia of purple, orange, green, and all sorts of colors on Oct. 19 for the annual Fall Rally North held by Key Clubs all over northern California.

Club members paid only $33 for exclusive Six Flags tickets for the event, and from 9 a.m. to noon the park was reserved exclusively for Key Clubbers.

Fall Rally North is what attracted the incumbent president Emily Miller to Key Club in her sophomore year.

“Fall Rally North is a way for Key Clubbers from all over Northern California to come together and share their love for serving the community with spirit and camaraderie,” Miller said.

Division 44 North, the division this school’s Key Club is a part of, was scheduled to participate in the second rally at noon; the first rally was reserved for another set of divisions. During the rally, the student lieutenant governors for each division were “auctioned” off to divisions with the money each division raised for Pediatric Trauma Program.

“Every division raises money throughout the year for a charity to prevent pediatric trauma, which is the main cause of death in children in America, and at Fall Rally we bid on the lieutenant governors of each division as a fun little competition to see which division has raised the most money,” Miller said.

After the auction, the divisions engaged in a spirit battle. They cheered and flailed flags and props that represent their division to win the golden spirit stick. People held “free hug” signs and belted out spirit cheers that were the essence of Key Club culture.

“I thought the culture was kind of weird but really fun because it was crazy and interesting,” first-year member Melissa Lombardo said.

Division 44 North is smaller than most other divisions, and as a result did not cheer as enthusiastically.

“Our division is a lot smaller so I think that discourages people from being spirited because they don’t think we could win,” Miller said.

Emily Nguyen learned something to keep in mind for next year when she is one of those in charge of this school’s club.

Nguyen said, “Six Flags is an amazing place for Fall Rally because it attracts so many people to participate. Only a few people from our club came, so I learned that we need more active members next year and to show how fun Fall Rally is.”

by KAVLEEN SINGH