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Utah high schoolers launch booster club for students in the arts
Caleb Stay and Amelyah Berson spoke with FOX Television Stations about "The Bruin Classies" and why it's important to cheer on all students in their activities.
OREM, Utah - High school athletes are used to hearing cheers during games, but some students who participate in the arts, such as theatre, dance and music may not have that same support system.
That’s why senior Caleb Stay spearheaded and currently serves as president for "The Bruin Classies" at Mountain VIew High School in Orem, Utah. The group serves as a booster club to support students who are in the arts.
"The purpose of the Bruin Classies...is to help just celebrate the students in the Arts department," the 17-year-old told FOX Television Stations Monday. "We want to be there and recognize the hard work they've put into the different things they do."
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Stay says the club started this semester and already has 90 members. Members say it’s important for all students to feel supported in the activities they pursue.
"When we have our sporting events, there’s a lot of people ...they’re just like going crazy," club secretary Amelyah Berson, 17, also told FOX Television Stations. "And then when a band concert or a theater production comes on, rarely any student shows up."
In the days leading up to an event, members will wear bowties and cardboard signs advertising the event. On the day of the event, members will attend the performance as a group. Afterward, they will cheer on the performers.
Berson said so far the group has attended some drama performances, choir concerts and dance recitals. Stay said the biggest attendance for the Classies was when 20 members showed up for a drama performance, sitting in their own section in the audience.
Stay and Berson said the student performers have welcomed the group.
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"I’ve gotten a lot of my friends, talking to me like ‘You guys are so awesome for coming to see us.’" Berson said.
Stay said the club got its name from a similar group called "The Bruin Crazies"— a known school booster club for athletes. He said he hopes the Classies will inspire high schoolers across the country to support their own classmates.
"I personally believe that kindness compounds," Stay continued. "When one person does something good for you, you want to go do something good for another person."
"It just builds and builds and builds to where we can all support each other," he said. "And that’s what we’ve become is just everyone supporting each other, and I am all there for that."
This story was reported from Los Angeles.