By Andrew Georgy
Disclaimer: I am a member of all the clubs mentioned.
Tables are set out, the posters are flying high in the air, and the sign-out sheets are advertised galore for every club you can think of. Yet, if you take a closer look, you realize that some of the sign-up sheets are empty, some of the board members have given up and not a lot of people want to walk around the bowl. Does this scene seem familiar? It should, considering that Club Rush 2.0 just took place a few weeks ago.
While Club Rush 1.0 is a great opportunity for students (especially incoming freshmen) to learn more about school culture and activities, Club Rush 2.0 just seems like another boring, unneeded movie sequel.
But what do clubs think? Did they attract new members or not? How was this year’s Club Rush compared to last year? I asked the board presidents of three clubs: Science Olympiad, Medical Society and Math Olympiad.
“For Science Olympiad, we got three new signups, and so we didn’t see many new people the week after. I feel like oftentimes by spring, most students have either committed to their clubs, dropped out, or decided to join at the start of the next year. However, I will say for clubs like SciOly, I do like getting spring members instead of having them wait until the fall to join because spring is the off-season, so it’s a perfect time to get everyone acquainted and do practice for competition prep. Personally, I think Club Rush 2.0 should just be made optional so clubs that want or need the exposure get it, while clubs that don’t can focus on other things. It might also be nice to publicize the fact that information for all clubs is on the school website too so students can reach out whenever!” Katelyn Tran, junior, President of Science Olympiad said.
“We got ten new signups as we got a majority of our sign-ups (fifty) during Club Rush 1. I personally do not think Club Rush 2.0 is necessary if clubs already have a positive member retention but it can be beneficial to clubs experiencing low member turnout. This year it was really stressful during Club Rush 2.0 because we weren’t getting as many signups as last Club Rush. The only criticism I have is to not make Club Rush 2.0 mandatory,” Daniel Le, senior, President of Medical Society said.
“I fully support Club Rush 1 because it is a fresh start for many clubs to introduce themselves to new students. It also helps these clubs plan their yearly events better when they have a clear estimate of how many members they have. On the other hand, I want Club Rush 2.0 to be optional because every club has a different situation they are in. Some are currently doing projects with members since the beginning of the year, making it hard for new members to adapt. Others are done with their main events by the time of CR2.0 and have nothing for new members to do. This would only disengage new members which makes the process of recruitment ineffective. Still, some clubs will need Club Rush 2 to boost their participation or prepare these members for the next school year.
Another improvement I recommend that would leave clubs with less of a burden is for the school to replace Club Rush 2.0 with a week where the clubs can allow new members to come to their meetings, and these new members decide for themselves if this is a club that interests them. The school can facilitate communications by having a website/schedule/announcement that offers the club meeting info to guide people who want to learn more about these clubs. Of course, clubs that do not want new members can opt out of the program. I believe this will give clubs more freedom and less work to recruit new members. I also think it is more effective because these new members will see for themselves how the clubs operate instead of listening to advertisements at Club Rush,” Tri Nguyen, senior, President of Math Olympiad said.
