Last Wednesday at lunch, students from all grades gathered on the Green to sign up for clubs at M-A’s annual Club Rush. Senior Club Coordinator Simone McCreary said, “I am really happy with the Club Rush turnout, both from students and clubs. I can’t wait to see the clubs in action this year.” Here’s a selection of the clubs present and activities they do around campus.[vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][nectar_animated_title heading_tag=”h6″ style=”color-strip-reveal” color=”Accent-Color” text=”Social Issues Clubs”][vc_column_text]Alternative Journalism Club – Senior Elizabeth Rosales founded this club in order to create “a community for people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community to express their art.” It aims to make a safe space for people who may not have the opportunity to create artwork at home, who “maybe can then do it in this club.”
Current Events Discussion and Activism Club – Focusing on local and international issues of today’s society, this club aims to come up with “a plan of action” achievable to students in order to address topics they care about. The current president, freshman Niklas Klemmer, said he wants to “incorporate discussion and debate” into meetings.
Women’s Union – Founder Anna Gady Mognuilnitskaia, a junior, said the Women’s Union “promotes women’s rights and funds education for charities and domestic violence shelters.” Mognuilnitskaia founded the club after not seeing one like it at M-A last year.
Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) – Sophomore Benji Weiss, a GSA Vice President, said “GSA is a community and safe space for people to learn about the culture and history of LGBTQ+ people.”. The club advocates for inclusivity for LGBTQ+ students on campus, and “would love to welcome more people into this awesome community.”[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”flexslider_style” images=”72245,72247″ onclick=”link_no”][nectar_animated_title heading_tag=”h6″ style=”color-strip-reveal” color=”Accent-Color” text=”Service Clubs”][vc_column_text]
Surfriders Club – Lilly Supple, a senior at M-A, said, “We clean beaches on the weekends to keep our oceans and beaches clean.” If you are looking for an opportunity to meet new people and help the Earth at the same time, check out this long-running service club, which meets in the Service Learning Center (P-5) every other Thursday.
Dream Volunteers – This branch of the international Dream Volunteers organization arranges service trips abroad. “We focus on bringing service opportunities to students at M-A,” senior and Co-President Sufie Sheikh-Bahaei said. They have “coordinated service trips to 5 different countries.” Senior Kiana Gholamy added, “we also provide opportunities for students to create their own projects.”
Leo Club – “The Leo Club is a community service club that represents Leadership, Experience, and Opportunity,” senior Parsa Zaheri, the club’s president, said. It aims to ensure all students have the opportunity “to serve as a leader.” Overall, “the Leo Club is a great service club to join if you’re interested in sampling all kinds of community service and finding what parts of service intrigue you most.”[/vc_column_text][nectar_animated_title heading_tag=”h6″ style=”color-strip-reveal” color=”Accent-Color” text=”Skill-Based and Activity Clubs”][vc_column_text]Music Production Club – Sophomore and President Alex Grigoroiu said, “you should join our club if you’re interested in learning how to make music digitally.” The meetings teach members how to use different software and equipment, as well as “peer review others’ work.”
Ultimate Frisbee Club – If you are looking to find something active and new to do on Saturday afternoons, the Ultimate Frisbee club is the place for you. With no prior experience necessary, anyone can join the meetings for fun practices and scrimmages. With the existence of two different ultimate frisbee clubs on campus, junior Lily Montague-Alamin said, “we may scrimmage against the other club as well,” which is an event you do not want to miss.
Chess Club – The chess club is another opportunity to take a break from schoolwork and have fun with peers. “We want to create a community where people can come and play chess and have a good time, where you don’t have to be an insane chess player,” said senior Chase Baker.
Ceramics Club – Whether you already know the basics of ceramics, are advanced, or have never tried it, the ceramics club is a place for people of all skill levels to learn more about and explore the art. Senior Ellery Burton-Tillson says, “it’s a good way to not be stressed and to meet new people.” They meet every other Wednesday at Flex Time in D-22.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”flexslider_style” images=”72251,72252,72253,72254″ onclick=”link_no”][nectar_animated_title heading_tag=”h6″ style=”color-strip-reveal” color=”Accent-Color” text=”Culture Clubs”][vc_column_text]Mandarin Club – This club spreads knowledge of Chinese culture around school. “We play a lot of games at club meetings,” junior president Wilona Chen said, and emphasized that students should join because “it is a good community overall.”
Pacific Islander Club – This club focuses mainly on Polynesian culture, but is open to showing the culture of other Pacific Island regions. Junior president Alia Vunipola said, “In a meeting, we go over the events that we’re planning on doing. Depending on what we’re going to represent, most of the time we put on dances.” The number of dances the club puts on varies each year based on what the members decide, but they are most common at school pep rallies.
Deaf Culture Club – This club, newly started this year by sophomore Faith Schubin, meets every Thursday in G-8. “I really wanted to start a club related to sign language because my parents are deaf,” Schubin said. If you want to learn more about deaf culture and American Sign Language, join the Deaf Culture Club.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”flexslider_style” images=”72255,72256,72257″ onclick=”link_no”][nectar_animated_title heading_tag=”h6″ style=”color-strip-reveal” color=”Accent-Color” text=”Other Clubs”][vc_column_text]Mental Wellness Club – The mental wellness club is new this year, and is all about finding a balance in life and better managing stress. The founder, sophomore Hura Orujov, found the transition into the new school year overwhelming, and said she “wanted to provide a way to help people manage.” They will meet on the weekends in an outdoor space to do activities like yoga and meditation.
Intercambio – Intercambio is a club where students can practice their speaking skills in both Spanish and English. “We rotate the language a couple of times during each meeting,” junior Julianna Maldonado said “We exchange cultural ideas and language, which is really helpful for your classes.”
If you would like more information on any of the clubs at M-A or find out where and when they meet, check out this link: Clubs at M-A
