New Reading Club On Campus
March 9, 2010
Natasha Sosa, asst. editor - special sections
Do you have something you’re passionate about? Do you love to play and share tips about video games, or do you enjoy sharing music with others and being introduced to new styles? Whatever it is you love to do, there are always others who share your interests. So how can you get everyone together to share an activity or interest? The best way to do so is to start a club here on campus.
In fact, any member of the student body can start a club, although there is a process one has to go through in order to make it official. If you have the drive and the determination, though, your dream club can indeed become a reality.
It turns out that about two to three new clubs are proposed each year, although only one or two actually go through the entire process. However, when people do go through the entire process, the club is almost always made official, according to Vice Principal Hernandez.
One club currently being proposed is the Reading Club, started by junior Mireille Habib.
The first step Mireille took towards making her club a reality was filling out a “Request to Organize” form. This form requires students to formalize their purpose or goal for the club, find a faculty member to moderate the club, and acquire the signatures of 15 students who would to join the club. Basically, it sets the foundation for the club, ensuring that there is both focus and interest.
For Mireille, filling out the form was not difficult. “I was able to get the fifteen signatures the first day; I really didn’t need to hunt around for people,” she said. “People seemed really into the idea.”
Once a student finishes with the form, the club is allowed to meet on a “trial-run” basis, to test the waters and see if it will work. It will also come up on the agenda at the last student council meeting, where the members of the student council will vote on whether to recommend the club to Mrs. Hernandez. If the student council votes in favor of the club, Mrs. Hernandez assigns it an official moderator and gives the club official status.
Of course, even once a club earns its official status it must meet certain requirements. All clubs must contain a community service component, although there is freedom in how a club can go about meeting that requirement. Some clubs choose to do something related to their theme, such as SEAS’ beach clean-up days, while others just go as a group to volunteer somewhere unrelated to them but still worthy.
Attendance is also an issue clubs must stay aware of. Attendance is kept track of by Mrs. Hernandez, whom club officers e-mail once a month with the attendance of their most recent meeting.
“If the club’s attendance ever drops below 15 members, I ask the club’s officers and moderator to evaluate whether or not the club should continue,” she said. “Sometimes clubs thrive for a while because a group of girls who are really passionate about that topic are here at Pres, but then the club dies out when they graduate, since no one else is interested.”
While earlier book clubs may have died out like these other special interest groups, now that interest has been returned, the book club may just make it through. Mireille Habib has filled out her form, and now she’s just waiting on the next step.
“At this point, I figure there’s not much else I can do except publicize,” she said.
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