Author D–

Is Student Government cracking down on clubs? Four days into the second semester, Student Body President, senior Tyler Moyer shared a StuGo Club Progress Report as “an opportunity to report on your organization’s successes” and share “challenges/obstacles with which Student Government might assist you.” Despite this careful language, the post ensued chaos in the halls as club leaders began strategizing ways to pass this “test” for renewal into the second semester. Will “failing” lead to clubs being disbanded? In order to answer this question, we must first understand why Student Government and the Public Purpose Student Leadership Board (PPSLB) created this progress report.

There is no denying that the club system needs to be reformed. This past December, The Rye Crop sent out a survey to gauge the student body’s thoughts on the system as it exists today. 85% of surveyed students support revision of the system, some describing it as, “oversaturated” and “a free for all.” 88% of respondents believe that the 72 student groups are far too many. Moyer told The Rye Crop that “people have so many options, they’re paralyzed by choice.” This is especially true during the Activities Fair where respondents signed up for as many as 14 clubs. While students find the Activities Fair to be a fun way to learn about what the school has to offer, they also reported that it can be overwhelming; one suggested a “cheat sheet” with club names and descriptions for students to reference during the fair. A simple solution of this nature could help clubs build email lists of interested students, rather than lists populated by underclassmen afraid to say no to a club’s pitch.

Another concern about the “oversaturation” of student groups in the Upper School is the significant number of those groups that are simply not meeting. A mere 56% of the clubs that respondents are a part of have met at least once in the first semester; a rather concerning data point considering that an Upper School student signs up for an average of 7 clubs. Many have speculated that this inactivity can be attributed to students starting clubs in response to the looming threat of college admissions. Respondents believe that a stricter renewal and creation process could weed out dormant, or potentially dormant, clubs.

While weeding out these dormant clubs may have been a reason that the form was sent out, discussions last month with Moyer and Junior, Sofía Castañeda, a member of the Public Purpose Student Leadership Board, revealed that this information would be used to distinguish “true” clubs from other students groups currently operating as such. Castañeda emphasized the importance of distinguishing these groups stating that a service group should be held to different standards, with more accountability, than an interest group like, for example, Spongebob Club. Moyer expressed that the current club system is limiting and that certain service groups may find operating alternatively incredibly beneficial. They both feel that it is important for students to know that starting a club isn’t always the best way to get involved in community service. For example, a student shouldn’t feel they have to start a club to run an annual drive. The Public Purpose Student Leadership Board has been hard at work finding ways to make service opportunities more accessible for students, this form being one of the many steps in this process.
So, club leaders know that there is no need to fret, your club will likely not be disbanded for “failing” the StuGo Club Progress Report. Revisions to the current club system will hopefully solve oversaturation issues and get student groups they support and structure that they need.

This article was written by Isabel Tiburcio. For the full answer key, click here.