Arroyo Grande High School had an unusual football season, with only 4 league games being at home. Due to the team’s success, 2 at-home CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) games were also hosted on the AGHS campus; yet, some of the beloved themes for the student section, Blue Zoo, were sacrificed.
A “Red, White, and Blue” USA-themed football game was rumored to be removed from the list due to its perceived insensitivity to today’s political climate. Senior Lucas Korth (‘26) believed this was unfair and began an online petition through Change.org to make the football game happen.
“I was told in cheer by 2 ASB students,” said Frankie Anguiano (‘27). “They continued the conversation [saying], ‘Yeah, we’re not allowed to have a USA theme because it’s insensitive’ with hand quotation marks.”
ASB Spirit Commissioner, Joss Robertson (‘27), clarified.
“We wanted it to be [a Red, White, and Blue] game; we had all voted. And then it was brought up in a meeting, and Admin said it wouldn’t be a great idea. So then we were like, okay, let’s just do Blue and Gold then because that’s easy,” Robertson said.
Even though a USA-themed football game didn’t take place this year, the Girls Varsity Volleyball Team hosted one for their Blue Zoo section, possibly without the help of ASB.
“I’m not sure, I think someone in ASB might [help plan Volleyball Blue Zoo], and I think Hurtado still has to check with things,” said Robertson. “Which is kind of confusing why they would allow a USA game for volleyball and then not one for [football].”
The student body viewed the online petition as a political act, however Anguiano said that the intention of the petition was different than it was being represented.
“I think a lot of people tried to make it seem like we were trying to make this a political route. It was not meant to be political at all,” said Anguiano. “This was meant for us to exercise our freedom of speech and also for us to be proud of where we live. Nothing is going to be perfect in this world, but we still live in America and I think we should have a right to be proud of [that] and express it through football games.”
After the petition was created, the community reached out online, bringing out a more controversial side of it.
“There were a few comments [on the petition] that were like ‘We need ICE in the area,’” said Robertson. “But then there was another comment that was talking about veterans and how we should be able to wear red, white, and blue to support veterans; and I was like this is totally right, we should.”
Principal Brad Grumbles also heard about the comments online.
“I heard from a lot of different community members on both sides,” said Grumbles. “Unfortunately, the comments on the petition are not our people. They’re not part of our school community.”
The first CIF game, hosted on Nov. 7, was reworked the day of, by Admin and ASB, to be more centered around the celebration of veterans and also included a compromise for the want of a red, white, and blue themed football game.
Grumbles sent out a message to all of the AGHS community to resolve the issue, saying that people can dress however they feel to support veterans.
“I found out after it became a problem, I was made aware of social media posts and a petition,” said Grumbles. “I had to meet with groups separately and try to figure out how we could get to a resolution that was fair for both sides.”
Although ASB faced most of the backlash from students and the community, Grumbles believes he should be taking most of the heat.
“In no way, shape, or form are [ASB students] responsible for this decision,” said Grumbles. “That’s a leadership decision, and it falls on the principal to make sure that everybody’s set up for success.”
Although there aren’t any more home football games for the season, the future is still open for debate about a purely red, white, and blue theme for football Blue Zoo.
“Red, White, and Blue is not off the table. It’s always an option,” said Grumbles. “I think it’s really important that we highlight our first responders, our veterans, and all of the people that have made this country the amazing place it is.”
When coming up with more solutions, ASB members and students mentioned the idea of having students vote for football game themes.
“The entire school gets to participate and I think at least majority of the school should have the right to put in their opinion of how they [dress up],” said Anguiano.
Korth and Anguiano not only hoped that their petition would help put in place future Red, White, and Blue games, but also make the student body more involved with their celebration of school spirit.
