Birkilee Cochrane

Clubs are a fun and new experience for students of all ages. However, some students may not feel as though they can join a club because they could be judged for being new or not skilled at a certain hobby or sport.  This causes them to worry about what other students think or say. 

While conducting a survey of 50 students, 43 claimed they were anxious about joining activities outside of school. Bullying and peers are two of the top three reasons why students don’t join the clubs they want to participate in. 

¨I was nervous  that people would not like me or make fun of me,¨ said Kai Marino, a freshman member of the Military and Esports clubs. He said he actually became really well liked and enjoyed himself after joining. 

Freshman Abigail Love, who is a member of robotics, was in agreement. ¨The new experience was a lot less scary than I expected, and I even made some new friends,¨ she said. 

Feeling as though they would not be as skilled as everyone else was also a common theme in students’ anxiety. Freshman Cole Roberts, a member in Photography/Journalism Club, as well as Business Professionals of America, said, “I was not scared of being made fun of even though I definitely felt like I was not skilled enough in BPA.” 

Roberts felt as though he was not as good as everyone else when he did not make it to the BPA state competition unlike his other peers. 

“I had just joined Journalism, and I even felt that I would be less skilled or informed but I’ve come to realize that everyone is learning together,” he said. 

Club awareness is a topic that seems to not be a big  problem, but still needs to be addressed. Students may be uninformed or unaware about clubs they may enjoy and lose chances they may never get again in life. 

SHS teacher Josh Lewis, who assists with  the Disney Club, stated, “Clubs are a great chance for students to get involved in things outside the classroom and make friends with peers that have similar interests.” 

Several students commented that many clubs were unnoticed like BPA, Military, SADD and  more. Roberts and Marino both agreed that clubs like Military and SADD were not as well known. Why would students not join these clubs? Many students may be unaware that a club they like is even available for them. While clubs are mentioned in morning announcements, many students claim a booth during lunch for clubs could encourage students to try a new club and become more aware of what clubs are available to join. 

 Though students may be scared to join, there are many things the school could do to appeal to students’ taste and let them be more creative. Booths, mentoring and the willingness to take a big step are many ways to make clubs more inviting and less scary.