The Art Club is my home. It’s a place where I can unwind from school and spend time with friends. It hurts to see only a few people show up every meeting or have people even ditch the club for weeks at a time. The stress it puts on the adviser, art teacher Breanna Bierod, is clearly visible, especially when someone signs up for a special event. When this happens, Bierod goes out of her way to buy and set up everything for those who signed up, but there are some that just never come, which is disrespectful. 

I know it’s not like that in just the Art Club, either. Clubs at SHS in general deserve more acknowledgement and should be taken more seriously.

When walking around the school, posters for different clubs can be seen all over the walls, but does that really do anything? I’ve been in the Art Club almost all year. In the beginning there was a quick spike in people, but the amount of people that participated dwindled throughout the year. It really sucked because I made friends with some of them and never saw them again. 

I think the problem lies mostly in advertising. Many students don’t know SHS has an Anime Club or what happens in Key Club. It’s not really advertised to us. The most I believe students hear about a club is over the announcements, and it’s just to tell us that that club is meeting that day. The announcements don’t say what happens in clubs or who runs them. The basic information is just briefly run by students. 

I think The Journal advertises the different clubs the most throughout the year. A review over the Pride Club was written on the website on Feb. 26, 2020. Even then, it’s on the website, and it has the ability to reach a wide audience, but it becomes a matter of students reading it and spreading it around. It just goes to show that the advertisement for the clubs relies on students for making them known, even if The Journal or the announcements say something.

It’s genuinely upsetting to see the effort and dedication some of these clubs have be wasted. There has to be a better way to get some of these clubs more members.

With more information and details given to students, as well as a more dedicated and open attitude, I feel that the lesser-known clubs in SHS could thrive, bringing students closer together and making sure that the teacher’s efforts don’t go to waste. Also, just talking more about them in everyday conversation could help as well. I didn’t know about Art Club until someone told me about it.

The clubs I’ve surrounded myself with changed my life for the better, I’d love to see that change in students all around the school too. Going into the new school year, consider joining a club and see what it can do for you.