By Avery Maier, ’13, Contributor
Clubs are allotted a set time to meet, every Wednesday and every other Monday from 1:15 to 1:35 p.m. There is some conflict about whether or not this club time is useful or even necessary. For some clubs, this official club time is a great time to plan, but other clubs don’t meet during the period or don’t use the time productively.
The designated club time is important for some Upper School clubs, like Model UN and the Environmental Club. These clubs might use the time to organize upcoming bake sales or, in the Environmental Club’s case, to strategize about how to adopt more animals at the Cincinnati Zoo. “The goal of club time is to give students a time to come together with others who have the same interest and work towards a common goal,” said Mr. Scott Dillingham, Director of Student and Multicultural Life.
Spirit Squad co-head Elizabeth Blackburn, ’11, said the Spirit Squad is “a club that rises to occasions when they come up, such as big games.” Although the weeks with big sports matches against rivals like CHCA and Summit demand more of the Spirit Squad’s energy, the club is expected to work weekly to boost spirit. “We do have goals and things we need to accomplish,” Blackburn said. While club time can be useful and productive for clubs such as the Spirit Squad, at times, the amount of club time can become excessive. “Two times a week is way too much time,” said Blackburn.
For other clubs such as Cappies and The Scroll, club time isn’t as useful. Ali Breneman, ’11, the head of Cappies, said that the club has “never actually met during club time [because club members] mainly communicate and establish agendas through e-mail.”
Cappies club members attend theatrical performances and critique the performances through reviews. “It’s good there is an opportunity for clubs to meet during school, but I think they should be able to choose whether to meet then or at another time,” Breneman concluded.
The Scroll is another club that doesn’t meet during club time. “Scroll meets Tuesdays at lunch because there’s more time and fewer conflicts,” said Will Portman, ’10, Editor-in-Chief. While The Scroll doesn’t meet during club time, Portman thinks that “there are other clubs for which club time is a productive period. It kind of just depends on the nature of what a club is trying to [achieve]. Clubs can be a good time to do things like make announcements or pass out permission slips or organize bake sales – sort of smaller logistical things that don’t require much time.”
“I think most clubs start the year with good intentions, but as the school year progresses, some find it difficult to keep the momentum going,” Dillingham said.
Club time is a period that isn’t necessarily used by all, but it serves a purpose, “to have students work together, to learn leadership [skills], and to develop interests in things that are outside of the academic realm, but [at the same time] connected to it,” said Upper School Head Stephanie Luebbers.
Photo by Ilana Habib.