By Vanessa Wang | Junior Editor

   The Gabbys was a month-long event hosted by Gabrielino High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) during the month of March. There were three separate activities, including an album cover contest, a Grammy gowns event, and the Masked Singer Competition.

   ASB announced this event on Feb. 26, through a post on its Instagram.

   “Inspired by the Grammys on the 14th of March,” stated ASB President Kelly Tran, senior, “ASB wanted to put together a similar-themed event.”

   The name, “The Gabbys,” came from Assistant Principal Vince Lopez, who had used it for a Renaissance Rally theme a few years before. 

    The idea for the contest itself came from a similar event hosted by Temple City High School.

   “[They] hosted an album cover contest [for their students], so we were definitely inspired to do an activity like that for our school,” Commissioner of School Spirit Kelly Hy, junior, stated.

   There were a total of eight submissions, with one submission per person, although people were allowed to work with others to create the album covers.

   The album cover submissions were accepted from March 3-5, then voted on in a bracket-style from March 8-12 through the Gabrielino ASB’s Instagram account, using the “poll feature” on stories. The covers were split up randomly at first and then after each round of elimination, the winners were matched up with each other until there was only one left.

   The contest’s winning album was a recreation of Maroon 5’s album “Red Pill Blues,” featuring seniors Sarah Cheang, Lauren Chung, Lana Hy, Bernice Li, Kelly Tran, Gia Truong, and sophomore Laura Cheang.

   “It’s really empowering that we won the Gabbys during Women’s History Month,” Hy said, “I know this is just a high school competition but all female victories, big or small, [are] worth commending.”

   Aside from the album cover contest, ASB also hosted the Grammy Gowns event that had students submitting photographs of what they would wear to the awards ceremony.

   This activity was hosted on March 12, and a total of 17 students participated by sharing their looks on Instagram.

   The third event hosted by ASB for the Gabbys was The Masked Singer Competition. Students submitted clips of themselves singing songs anonymously, using mask filters, or altering their voices digitally.

   Submissions were accepted from March 15-19.

   Although ASB is trying their best to bring school spirit into students’ homes, most agree that it is not easy.

   “In my opinion, the most challenging part of having to host ASB events virtually is getting people to participate,” stated Edith Gonzales, the ASB advisor. “Every activity that ASB plans has to do with the limitations we are facing.”

   Members of the ASB believe it is important for students to participate in the activities that they host, especially when everything is online.

   “Participating in our events is a great way to stay connected with the school and other students,” ASB Vice President Shannon Tran, senior, stated. “It is honestly so fun to see how other students use their creativity when partaking in our activities.”