A controversy that led to reports on three local newscasts, the "Culture Warriors" segment of "The O’Reilly Factor" and an article and editorial in the Sacramento Bee began simply with an opinion piece criticizing the Varsity Song’s dance routine at the Aloha Rally.

"Moves like we saw at the Aloha Rally are not allowed at normal school dances or even in most socially acceptable settings," senior John Butterfield wrote in the September issue of Mirada. "This is a high school rally, not the latest music video."

Butterfield said he was inspired to write the article after getting "a front row view" of the routine.

"I think it’s degrading to every female at our school," Butterfield said in an interview. "Just because it’s been going on for years doesn’t make it right."

Dance coach Demeris Athey said that she and the team members had read the article and reviewed a tape of the performance. They decided to modify the routine to make it "less offensive to the more controversial members of the audience."

A link to a YouTube video of the performance, posted by Mirada Co-Editor-in-Chief Molly Ingram, accompanied Butterfield’s article.

After taping the routine for a friend, Ingram said, "I knew that this video would come in handy for those who didn’t see the performance in person, for whatever reason."

About a day after the first news segment aired on News 10, the video went from a couple hundred views to a couple thousand views.

"The video didn’t get that many hits the week after the paper came out, and no one really seemed to be attacking us for publishing it," Ingram said. "I figured that some people would watch the video, but when I saw the video clip on the news, I was pretty surprised."

As of Oct. 21, the video had 22,842 views and 163 comments, not including some of the more negative comments, which have been removed.

"I don’t want to censor people’s opinions, but I think it’s important to get rid of some of the more inappropriate comments, because it’s not school-friendly," said Ingram.

An unknown reader who viewed the video e-mailed several news stations, including News 10, expressing concern about the routine, according to Athey. Soon after, several other news stations gathered interest in the Varsity Song’s performance, as well as Butterfield’s article.

Butterfield said he did not intend to upset any students, nor for his article to make national news.

"I thought some people would disagree, but only a few people," Butterfield said. "I didn’t think the song team would change anything."

However, "(The Song Team) read the article and viewed the tape of their performance several times, and made adjustments to their routine without prompting from anyone," Principal Brian Ginter said. " I think they showed real maturity in how they handled the situation."

"The News 10 reporter basically took the e-mail as the truth," Athey said. "He did not contact the administration, (and) he made no effort to."

According to Athey, when she asked the News 10 reporter why he didn’t check his facts, he replied that he wanted to be first with the story.

The news segment sparked follow-ups from several other news stations, including "The O’Reilly Factor," News 13 and Fox 40 News, which attempted to contact the administration soon after the News 10 broadcast.

Athey recommended that team members not talk to repoters and gave her first interview on the controversy for this article.

"When (the Fox 40 reporter) called up, I thought, ‘Sweet! Finally someone who can get the facts straight!"Athey said. "She referred him to Trent Allen, the district Director of Communications.

However, after a conversation with Allen, Fox 40 still broadcast essentially the same story that News 10 did, saying "attempts to contact the administration or the coaches were unsuccessful."

According to Athey, what he didn’t mention was the fact that he didn’t arrive at the school to interview the administration until 6 p.m.

The story was then debated on "The O’Reilly Factor," with both of O’Reilly’s pundits agreeing with Butterfield. After a clip of the performance played, Margaret Hoover said the dance moves were "overtly sexual." As the clip played again she said, "They look they are on an MTV music video."

Gretchen Carlson approved of the girls’ modest attire but not their bending over, saying, "Can you imagine the young teenage boys sitting in that school audience?" she asked. "How in the heck were they concentrating on algebra after that?"

However, freshman boys interviewed before the start of their Algebra class said they could still focus on school after the dance, and while some students shared Butterfield’s opinion, most students interviewed for this article did not feel that the routine was overly sexual.

"I think (the routine) was fine," said junior Stav Alon, "they do it the same way every year."

Athey feels that the criticisms of the routine were unfair. Principal Ginter was also dissatisfied with the way the media covered the issue.

"It could have been portrayed differently," Ginter said. "(The media) could have branched the topic out to include all high schools rather than just focusing in on Rio."

According to Athey, the entire issue has snowballed, growing from a school controversy to a national scandal.

"Hopefully it stops soon," she said. "(The story’s) worn out."