Clubs are an essential part of the high school experience. They are meant to bring together people of common interests and foster new friendships, but anyone who has been part of a club can attest that they always serve a greater purpose. Since their establishment, starting a club has been a strong indicator of leadership in a student — and the students have caught on. High schools in the Bay Area are filled with students who want to craft a competitive college application, and FHS is no different; the Official Clubs List, listed on the FHS website, displays over 90 different clubs.
“I think clubs are easy to establish, but most welcome all people, so it provides a good balance,” FHS junior Cornelius Lawrence, who is part of Robotics, politics club and National Honor Society (NHS) said.
To establish a club, students must go through an interview process by ASB to establish the purpose of their club. The interview process is relatively easy, as any club with a reasonable purpose is given the ability to establish itself on campus. However, there is a requirement to have ten people at each meeting in order to ensure that they are being held, and there is a significant attendance. This barrier is not too difficult to evade, though, as convincing ten friends to attend a short club meeting is quick and simple. Increasing the required number of members might disrupt clubs for more specific purposes. To avoid this issue, clubs should have a goal or project they must accomplish by the end of the year —this eliminates the possibility of clubs holding meaningless meetings.
“There are too many separate clubs at FHS; it might be a good idea to combine similar clubs,” FHS junior Nilanjan Narayan said.
Combining clubs that serve similar purposes is a great idea, as it allows for the improvment of meeting attendance. It would also make leadership positions more competitive, assuring that students do not hold leadership positions simply to put it on their college applications, but that they are genuinely interested in the club. Such a solution would also create a greater pool of funds and make achieving club goals easier.
The argument that there are too many clubs at Fremont defeats the purpose of these diverse, community-building spaces in the first place. Clubs are a safe space for students to explore what they are passionate about, and there can never be too many of these safe havens. However, clubs should not be exploited for their extracurricular value, they should actively contribute to the betterment of the campus while also being an enriching experience for its members. The current process to establish and maintain a club is fairly straightforward, and even though the majority of FHS clubs do a good job of going above and beyond, it might be a good idea to make club requirements more stringent.
