Soon after club rush, students are beginning to realize that maintaining schoolwork and being active members of clubs is not as easy in comparison to signing up for said clubs. I can attest to this as a person who single-handedly signed up for multiple clubs, hoping that this would be the year to actually commit to all of them. Although there are those few “super students” that can somehow juggle ten clubs and many rigorous classes, the very layout of how clubs function makes it harder for students to make good on the promises they make themselves on the first few days of school.

Most Quartz Hill clubs meet on Wednesdays after school, with even fewer clubs meeting on Thursdays. Even rarer still, are the few clubs that meet during lunch, (a situation where those with A lunch are usually left hanging). For a student looking to beef up their college application by being active in as many clubs as possibly is stunted by so many club meetings taking place on the same days, at the same time. Clubs and their representatives should work together to create a cohesive schedule that benefits both themselves and the student body. Students will in turn be able to attend more club meetings and be more well-rounded, and clubs will see more members coming in once they are no longer forced to make a choice between which club they deem as more crucial to attend.

Another problem with clubs is that not every official club is present during club rush. Smaller clubs like Tea Appreciation and Needle Crafters did not have booths at club rush, which makes it so much harder for them to get recognition and gain numbers: keeping the cycle going.

Quartz Hill’s system for clubs is difficult to keep up with, but also severely outdated. The long list of clubs on the QHHS website includes clubs that are discontinued; additionally, it also discludes clubs that are active in Quartz Hill. For incoming freshman who want to get involved, this is a huge problem.

They won’t know what to do when they cannot find the club they were so excited to join at club rush, or may simply give up looking for a club because it doesn’t exist at all. Something as simple as a club can set the tone for a whole year of extracurriculars and academics.

Starting off the year already feeling like you’ve failed at something puts students into a hole that- extremely early into the year- can be hard to get out of.