Clubs need more representation

Clubs+need+more+advertisement+in+our+school.+This+list+represents+only+some+of+the+clubs+that+students+can+join.

Lincoln Frank

Clubs need more advertisement in our school. This list represents only some of the clubs that students can join.

Extracurricular clubs in the educational system are an important part of a student’s high school experience. Clubs are a popular thing for students to participate in due to their ability to relate to other students’ interests, and provide activities members can participate in. However, some students miss out on the opportunity to join clubs due to poor representation of clubs to the student body.

Clubs are something every student should, at the very least, know how to join. It is unclear to some students what kinds of activities the various clubs participate in or even how to join each club.

The only time in my memory the school has encouraged students to join clubs is during my freshman year when we were taken to a sort of walkthrough, where we were allowed to walk through and view displays dedicated to the various clubs one could join. Since that day, I have yet to see any encouragement for sophomores, juniors or seniors to participate in club activities. This year clubs were asked to create displays and be available at lunch.  The Mountain Echo and Horseshoe created a display and stood with other clubs.  They even offered give away items and fewer than five students stopped.  Students didn’t seem to even know a club fair was happening.

After the first few weeks of freshman year, some students might be significantly less likely to learn more information about any club due to this lack of encouragement. The primary form of representation for most clubs is student word of mouth. I had heard about both the clubs I participate in through my peers, and those clubs are the two most popular ones in our school being Astronomy and foreign language club.

Astronomy club and the foreign language club both get most of their advertisement through student word of mouth and the many activities that they participate in. However, some other clubs are left unnoticed due to an even higher lack of representation.

The clubs with the most representation are those who play active roles in the community, hosting field trips or volunteer work. Astronomy club is a good example of a club that is active in the community, having most recently hosted the haunted Fort Roberdeau event. Foreign language clubs are also popular because they frequently have field trips and in school events which all of these things cause higher representation in clubs.

Some students would benefit from club information being more publicized. This would let students compound their interests and develop their personal and career-based interests. Easier access to club information would also allow for less difficulty when club advisers are trying to get new members to join for events.

One easy way to fix this problem would be to simply give students more information on the various clubs they could join. This could be accomplished by simply passing out papers to students at the start of the year that are entirely centered around showing what different clubs have to offer. It could contain a list of all clubs in the school and a short description of what they do and how to join.

The issue could also be reigned in by holding more assemblies in regard to the advertisement of clubs. These could be similar to the walkthrough type assembly that I described, containing information about clubs being presented by current club members or advisers. Information during these walkthroughs would include past events that clubs participated in, future plans and what the club does day to day.

One could argue that because some clubs already have many members they might not need that much advertisement for students to join; however, this is simply not true. While some clubs do already have a lot of members, these clubs are among the most popular in the school simply because they do larger scale activities than most others.

Some might also say students should be responsible for seeking out their own interests. I agree with this sentiment, but they shouldn’t have to blindly run into their interests until they find something that they enjoy. Students should be informed regarding clubs that might match their interests both inside and outside of school.

Increased club representation would benefit the student body and the school in its entirety. More representation in clubs would increase student morale, participation and overall improve the quality of life of the students affected. It would be a true increase in the quality of the education in the school.