Keila Bara

Local Students Find New Clubs And Activities For A New Year      
• The club recruiting season takes over Peninsula campuses.
Each year, Peninsula High School students gather around the amphitheater at lunch for a two-day event known as Club Rush. There are tables scattered on the grass, decked out with posters and small treats to attract students.

Club Rush took place this year on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 and was especially busy, the air buzzing with excitement from students who were unable to experience the event in-person last year due to school’s virtual setting. With 102 clubs, this year’s Rush appears to have been a success, each club recruiting a substantial amount of members for the 2021-22 school year.

Each of the 102 clubs had to go through the chartering process to receive approval from the Associated Student Body (ASB), specifically the two Commissioners of Clubs, seniors Victoria Rhodes and Edward Choi.
In order for Rhodes and Choi to allow a proposed club to proceed to Club Rush, they required all clubs to submit a video presentation laying out their idea, forming a constitution of rules and guidelines, recruiting a few members and finding a club advisor, typically a faculty member. Rhodes and Choi carefully reviewed these submissions and then decided which clubs to charter and which to reject.

Those that were approved and chartered then were required to participate in Club Rush, which entails a table being set up complete with a sign-up sheet to collect names and emails of potential members. Additionally, many clubs chose to give away snacks, candy or other treats as incentive to recruit more students.
One club, the Sustainability Club, was able to recruit 125 students who are passionate about environmental sustainability.
Club co-president and senior Clara Reckhorn is grateful for Club Rush, as it made it easy to find like-minded students who share her love of the environment.

“I have always been passionate about the environment, but now that I am taking Environmental Science, I am even more educated about the topic,” Reckhorn said.
“My co-president Emma [Laushine] and I hope that through this club, other students can be made more aware of the harmful impact humans have on the environment.”

Before these clubs could proceed with planning for their specific table at Club Rush, Rhodes and Choi had to prepare and plan the event as a whole. They began planning about a week prior, immediately after reviewing club presentations and getting each club acquainted with their plans for the school year.
They put together an elaborate map that depicted the location of each club’s table in the amphitheater, ensuring each of the 102 clubs had enough room on their tables and provided enough room for walkways between the rows. Due to the large number of clubs, some tables had three clubs, however there were tables that housed only two clubs as well.

Rhodes and Choi also communicated with the club presidents, informing them of their responsibilities in the days leading up to Club Rush and during the two days of the event.
“Managing over a hundred clubs was definitely difficult,” Choi said. “Still, it was completely worth it to see Club Rush return and be so successful after not having the event last year.”
Peninsula’s student body is notorious for being motivated and involved, and this is evident through the large turnout at the event itself. Students of all grades flooded the amphitheater, and many clubs were able to fill a large number of pages with names of potential members.

Clubs are a great way to get involved on campus and meet people who have similar interests, as there is a vast variety of clubs to choose from.
Clubs range from the Board Game Entertainment and Development Club, bringing together those who long for the simplicity of the past without the constant use of technological games for entertainment, to the Earth Canvas Club, attracting those who seek to raise awareness for environmental issues through art forms like videography, photography and painting.

There is a club for practically every interest, no matter how niche it may seem, and Club Rush serves as a consolidated space to introduce all the unique clubs available to students in an accessible manner.
Each year, this event turns out to be a big hit, and this year was no different. Club Rush brought back the sense of community and excitement around student involvement that was lost in the past year and a half due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and remote learning.

“Club Rush is a success every year because of how large of a role clubs play at Peninsula,” Rhodes said. “The variety of clubs showcase how so many people can be passionate about many different things, and this passion is reflected in the event’s success. Students want to join clubs, and this event provides them an easy way to do so.”