Each grade has its own spirit that develops throughout their time here at Terra Linda. Some grades may have an inside joke they all know, stories, parties, things like that. Cultures are different between the grades, while the Juniors may be very involved in school activities, Seniors may have a lively party scene. Something always seems to bring the people together. For the class of 2022, it seems to be Evan Murillo, a sophomore, who plays Defensive Tackle and Right Guard on the TL football team. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like this, rallying around one guy,” says Sophomore Jackson Clark. Clark also stated that he thinks our class is unique in a special way.

Some may see Evan as a representative of the Sophomore class grade, yet he isn’t that. Evan is the equivalent of a mascot, something that we all can rally around, less of something that says who we are. Think of the Stanford Trees:  in no way would I be proud to have my mascot be a creepy smiling tree, but I would be proud to have spirit and something that brings us all together.

TL has never been known for being the most spirited in the Bay Area, but this class of Sophomores may change a lot of things. I’ve personally always been a fan of having a big community, having everyone feel like they belong. This Evan rallying point, I feel, is an attempt at that, bringing everyone together and having a community. Sophomore Zach Rocco gave his opinion, “I feel better about myself knowing that there is something I can be a part of… I mean sure it’s kinda a joke, but I love playing along…”.

Many students find TL’s rallies a bore, while there may be the grade games and scream-off, many students think it’s a snooze-fest. An anonymous Junior stated, “I skip the rallies, why would I go to something I don’t enjoy, I can just go and have a longer lunch.” The Junior suggested that maybe instead of blasting loud music, the school should have the music classes play, “When the National Anthem is sung, I enjoy that because you can see the talent of our school.” I completely agree with this statement, TL should showcase our school’s talent at the rallies rather than trying to appeal to trends. Cheerleaders are a great example, they are showcasing acrobatic skills at each and every rally, but why can’t we have more? “What y’all are doing with Evan I enjoy, it shows that some people still got spirit…”.

The support for Evan is also fun, it gives us an excuse to go wild and bring energy to the school and the rallies. Megaphones, posters, cowbells, confetti, you name it and we’ll do it. “Yeah, it’s chillin’” says Sophomore Naveed Nazarizadeh, “I love screaming stupid s*** during the rallies, it brings some life to them.” It’s thrilling to go nuts sometimes and it’s exciting to be loud. Having a large group of people chanting one thing is incredible, it’s LOUD, it’s ginormous and it shows that we have spirit. Anna Peters, a Sophomore student, commented, “I just find it fun… I can’t wait for this to get bigger and bigger, it makes the rallies fun for me, something to look forward to I guess.”Obviously, this affects the spirit of the rallies for Sophomore students, in a very positive way.”

The rallies will only get bigger from here on out, more money will be used and more fun will be had, in an interview with the man himself, Evan Murillo, had this to say, “It’s really cool being at the center of it all… I love watching what you guys will come up with next…”. Murillo said that he wants everyone to hop on the train: “Make it big and make it LOUD!”.