photos by Madi Winfield, story by Mackenzie O’Guin

Yesterday, STA students bore witness to the first annual Walk of Fame & Color Throw Kickoff Event. To accommodate the mandatory all-school event, administration instituted a special schedule consisting of 35-minute classes leading up to the 35-minute “Special Event,” as the kickoff was denoted on both Moodle and the Today At STA email.

Director of Development Barbara Cusick explained the event as “very similar to the raffle kickoff,” referencing the annual fall Raffle Skit. In prior years, according to Cusick, the Walk of Fame was introduced during class meetings, but this time of year, class meetings have very full agendas.

“This fundraising event is simply not possible without student support and involvement,” Cusick wrote the Dart when asked what inspired the new event. “The Star Parents Association, the development team and administration know that we can count on the students’ support when they are informed about the process and the reasons behind it. As the team brainstormed about how to inform the students, [Marketing and Public Relations Director Megan Schaefer] suggested we take a page of out the fall fundraiser book… A kickoff assembly creates a forum to build excitement and provide a clear and consistent message about the event the entire student body.”

“We are hopeful the kickoff assembly will provide a fun way to get everyone excited about raising funds for STA’s emergency fund and financial aid for students in need,” Cusick wrote.

The event was hosted in the gym, where students sat segregated by grade and kicked off with an introduction from STA’s mascot Twinks, clad in last year’s Color Throw t-shirt. Then, a short video compiled of footage from last year’s Color Throw played to remind Color Throw veterans and inform newcomers of what the day entails – yard games, a DJ, a mile walk around the track with one’s class and the Color Throw itself. The event wrapped up with some color-themed trivia and class vs. class competition in which representatives from each class battled to see who could have the most color thrown on them by the end of a 30-second clip of “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas. Junior Catelyn Campbell took home the prize, a “Starbucks gift card and bragging rights,” according to senior and Spirit Club president Meg Rohr. This occurred when Rohr deemed juniors the loudest class in a tiebreaker in which each class attempted to out-cheer one another.

“[The juniors] stood up first,” Rohr announced during the competition, referencing the standing ovation and resounding cheers of the class of 2018. “So, I think they win!”

The entire kickoff seemed to have Cusick’s intended effect of educational entertainment, according to freshman Maggie Thompson.

“I didn’t know much about the Color Throw before,” Thompson said. “Before, I didn’t know what the Color Throw benefited, but now I’m so excited to experience it with all my new friends I’ve made this year.”