By: Neval Mulaomerovic
Over 80 clubs participated in this year’s CLOG Rush – nearly double the number of clubs from last year, Activities Director Jerell Maneja said. As a result of last-minute logistical changes, the format was changed to three individual days of unique clubs instead of the traditional two day format with one day for all clubs at the same time, he said.
Such a large growth in the number of clubs became a concern, but is ultimately a net positive, Maneja said. Clubs play an important role in MHS culture by providing students with a place to turn to for cultivating common interests, he said.
“Our mission is that if students have a comfortable place they can turn to, it does not matter how many clubs we have,” Maneja said. “If that means that we need a hundred clubs, then so be it. It’d be a different story if we didn’t have enough clubs and no one knew where to go.”
CLOG Rush was coordinated slightly differently this year with more interactive elements, such as the Anime Club fashion show, CLOG Commissioner Brandyn Huynh said.New additions for the year also include a 12-member minimum for clubs to recharter, he said.
“During our chartering process, we do try to find unique clubs and then charter clubs that are different from others,” Huynh said. “The [12-member minimum] is a new policy that ensures it is an actual club and that it is not just made for personal gain or college applications.”
With the spike of new clubs in the past few months, a main priority is making sure that there are enough people on campus that are interested, Maneja said. Though, clubs that have a reason behind their low membership may receive a waiver or assistance from ASB if necessary,he said.
“With up to 40 new clubs, we want to ensure that they are establishing these clubs not only because they want to, but because it is a common need for the school,” Maneja said. “There needs to be enough people on this campus that are interested in that, as well as ensuring that there is no conflict happening between clubs of the same type.”
Some situation arose where two clubs with similar missions attempted to form simultaneously, Maneja said. In these cases, conflicts are left up to the club officers to resolve to discuss possible solutions to minimize overlap, he said.
“We put it into the club officers’ hands to work with the other club and meet with them to discuss if there are opportunities to merge or make sure the clubs meet on different days,”Maneja said. “For example, one club adjusted so that while the theme is the same, the purposes are different. We have already had clubs choose to merge because the interests were the exact same and they were reaching the same students, so it made sense in their minds to just put it together.”
One of the newly chartered clubs this year, Anime Club’s goal is to help form new friendships and memories among fans of anime, Anime Club President Elijah Shankar said. The growth in the number of clubs is largely beneficial in allowing students to get more involved and be more lively on campus, he said.
“It has been a little crowded, but also it is nice to see how lively it can get with so many people,” Shankar said. “Compared to previous years, CLOG Rush seemed to have a lot of character because there was a lot of variety in what you saw and it all fed into the culture of exchange. I don’t think that there are too many clubs, but I do think it can cause problems when clubs overlap. As long as clubs are unique, I don’t think the amount of clubs is a problem.”
Grey Matters is another new club, whose mission is to increase awareness around mental health and provide a community of support, Grey Matters Vice President Swetha Nair said. A reason behind the rise in the number of new clubs this year may be that advisors are allowed to advise more than two clubs this year, she said.
“I also feel like the freshman that came in the past couple of years are a lot more open to being in activities and sharing ideas,” Nair said. “I think [the abundance of clubs] is already affecting membership because there are only five days a week, and you can’t have meetings so often. [Though], I think it’s a good thing we have more clubs because when you’re a part of a smaller club, you feel you are more a part of it and that you can have your opinion voiced. As long as we don’t give up on our clubs, I think it’s a good thing.”
Efforts are being made to give clubs the chance to participate more in school pride and festivities, Maneja said. The primary goal of each club should be to help the school, and increasing these opportunities for engagement might help, he said.
“We are looking to have CLOGs much more involved in homecoming this year with homecoming parade and decorations,” Maneja said. “We can have major events coming whereCLOGs are going to be at the forefront. Right now, we are having discussions of CLOG olympics or CLOG competitions. If we give them these opportunities to contribute, naturally they are going to do it.”
