October Nights at the Stay

Alex Castillo, Copy Editor

The lights dimmed at the Stay Gallery on Oct. 21, as Silence of the Lambs was projected onto the wall as a fundraiser, for the Breast Cancer Foundation, held by the Stay Connected club at Downey High School.
Stay Connected is a club that looks at community issues that affect high school students in the city of Downey. Daniela Keeler directs the club, which is comprised of students from both Downey and Warren High School. Keeler saw the October, Wednesday nights as a way to properly introduce her club members to a world of leadership and event organization.

 

“Events like Fright Night help give the young leaders skills in organizing and implementing events for their peers,” Keeler said. “It gives its audience more of a connection to the [Stay] gallery and each other.”

 

Stay Connected often holds meetings to discuss plans on how to better their community. Senior, Joaquin Oropeza is a member of the Stay Connected club at Downey High School.

 

“Well, because it was the month of October, we wanted to make a difference right away, so the easiest thing to do was to give a foundation some money,” Oropeza said, “and fortunately we had a pretty good turn out.”

 

The audience kept their eyes glued to the screen and were buzzing over the film they watched. Event attendee, Cruz Corrales, found the event entertaining and saw the greatness in the idea of sending the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

 

“I think it’s great that that there’s support for this foundation,” Corrales said. “It’s cool that the people that managed the movie are all teenagers and can get their friends or anyone else to donate too.”

 

The event was a huge success, and the Stay Gallery was full of film lovers and with people who wanted to have a good night out. Keeler says she is willing to host another event at the Stay Gallery and would love to see a similar turn out along with even more positive reviews.