Branham has seen a significant spike in student engagement so far this school year, with a total of 118 clubs on campus that satisfy many students’ interests.

This year, students acknowledge the fact that there are “too many” clubs, though there is a process. Students interested in forming clubs have to fill out a form before spring break and wait for their club to be reviewed by ASB. After organizing the request forms, ASB votes as a class on what clubs they think should be approved and why. The class asks clarifying questions in order to fully understand the function and purpose of each club, determining whether it is a strong enough club or conflicts with another. Club contracts, which include confirming the purpose of the club and requirements throughout the year, must be signed and approved. 

ASB Executive Vice President senior Sophia Liu explains that even after being approved, nothing is set in stone as every club has to reapply each semester. They can also be put on probation or disapproved if they are not following the requirements or club assignments set by ASB, such as attendance, keeping active on campus and attending club presidents’ meetings. However, ASB will not turn down a club as long as it does not overlap with another.

“A lot of the clubs this year are a little similar, but they have a little bit of a nuance to each, such as their purpose or what they do at meetings,” Liu said. “We have a process for approving the clubs in ASB to review each club and their purpose to ensure that there are no excessive clubs or unnecessary or repetitive ones.”

Activities Director Victoria Raineri, says the process of approving clubs can be long and tedious, but it is all to make sure the clubs are doing their jobs.

“Once we have that full list, then we have approved all of those clubs,” Raineri said. “We continue to communicate with those clubs about their club contracts and what their regulations are.”

Liu also explains how the differences and purposes of the clubs outweigh the potential similarities. If a club is found to be too similar, then the vice president will meet up with the president or presidents of the club, giving them the options of combining or ultimately declining the application if uncooperative.

“Movie club is where they tend to focus on watching movies and having fun, and film club is more of a deeper dive into the filmmaking process,” Liu said. “They sound very similar, but the reason why they are both approved clubs on campus is because they serve different purposes.”

According to Liu, the increased number of clubs on campus also serves as a benefit for many students. The variety of clubs can please all the different interests of high schoolers every year. 

“I think it is good to have options,” Liu said. “And it is good for the students to have a very large variety of clubs to join with different meeting times that they can make. It provides more options and access.”

On the contrary, Raineri voices how the number of clubs can lead to students spreading themselves too thin with too many options. A teen might be interested in a club, but with schoolwork piling up, extracurriculars and possibly other clubs, they could be unmotivated to attend school clubs. Raineri states that since the clubs are student run, they could be less attentive.

“I’m just seeing a high number of students wanting to be creative and wanting to express themselves, which we welcome and we enjoy, but that’s why there’s also a lot of requirements so that clubs are doing what they’ve signed up to do,” Raineri said. “You can’t just call yourself a club and then not do anything.”

Sophomore Katya Premnath is the president of Students Against Destructive Decisions. She explains how there are many clubs, which could lead to peer pressure, and possibly make students want to join clubs or their friends’ clubs. Narrowing down options could decrease the number of clubs they might feel pressured to join. 

“Some of the clubs have the same concept or same cause,” Premnath said. ”They could all work together or pick the clubs that most people want to go to.” 

Even if several clubs share similar goals, the approval process remains open to any new organization that can prove it serves a purpose and captures student interest. 

“When we are doing club approvals at the end of this semester, which I will be overseeing,” Liu said. “I would definitely keep it in mind — quality over quantity.”

Illustration by Huda Vora/Special to Bear Witness