Points are scoring, lions are roaring! School spirit is back at State High with the new group “The Pride,” which aims to support student clubs, activities and sports, and foster an overall sense of pride for State High.

The club was brought to life this year by senior Lila Franklin, who explained how it began. “[Athletic director] Loren Crispell asked me to help him revive [the club], because it used to be a group called ‘The Pulse,’ but basically I noticed that no one pays attention to sports that aren’t as popular,” Franklin said.

To kick off The Pride for the 2025-26 school year, Franklin worked with athletic directors to identify and invite leaders in student athletics across all grades to help boost the club. This includes star players, exceptional band/thespian members and overall well-rounded students who represent the mission of The Pride. 

“I really want to express that, a lot of people think that it’s something you have to formally join, or, I’ve had people tell me that, they want to be a part of it, but they’re not sure how. All you have to do is just come to events and be yourself,” Franklin said. “Just show pride and show support for other people … it’s not an exclusive thing at all.”

Sophomore Stella Cawley, a standout volleyball player for State High, was one of the first student-athletes to join The Pride. 

“I [joined] because I wanted to support the school more and be more involved,” Cawley said. She went on to emphasize why school spirit mattered to her. “[Spirit] makes the school feel more like one big family.”

Along with showing up to events, The Pride runs an Instagram page, @the.pridescasd, which posts weekly updates of events happening that week. These posts serve as reminders for students of which events are happening that week, so that they are able to attend as many as possible. The page also reposts sports scores and other SCASD-related information for the purpose of getting students more involved.

At a time when student body engagement feels lower than usual, The Pride aims to bring back the spirit of the student section. For typical students, that means not only attending games, but cheering as loud as possible, and staying until the game is finished.

“Really, the main goals are to build community and show up for everyone,” Franklin said. “To essentially promote student body pride … that’s the point, to bring kids together, and for everyone to cheer on everyone.”