A maze of tables lined the quad on Sept. 14 and 15 during this year’s Club Rush, each of them holding flashy boards advertising a club and troves of snacks to attract hopeful club-goers.
While some students leaned over tables to write their names on registration forms, others chatted with their friends and stole candy from neighboring tables; behind the table, officers animatedly pitched their clubs, gesturing to their elaborate display board while groups of students turned to listen.
This year’s Club Rush showcased 30 academic clubs on the first day and 29 cultural and service clubs on the second. Though there is clearly no shortage of clubs on campus, each club carves a specific niche. The Falcon explored these differences by asking 21 questions to 21 clubs during the bustling event.
Why should people join your club?
Psychology Club president Jiho Kim (a junior): “It’s for anybody who is interested in the field — you don’t need any prior experience. We are going to teach some aspects of psychology but it’s not anything too demanding. It’s just a fun club.”
What is your favorite aspect of being a club officer?
History Club president Diego Rocabado (a senior): “Teaching new members how exciting history can be! Not only can it connect to future events, but it can also make an impact on our current world.”
Why do you think the food that you are offering will coax people to join?
Animal Science Club president Angela Luo (a senior): “We are giving out M&Ms — which are the best kind of chocolate — and we expect that people will really like those. We are also giving out melted Reese’s, but it’s OK, melted chocolate is really good.”
What is your unique advertisement tactic?
Females for Finance Club co-president Anisha Rahut (a junior): “Our tactic is putting the brownies at the front of the table. Online, we are also using Instagram to promote meetings, which is a very unique tactic no one does. But we have our [club member] Jena Lew here, and she’s amazing at graphic design so that’s our best advertising tactic!”
What club would you say is second best to your club?
Amnesty Club secretary Anushka Tadikonda (a junior):“Model UN obviously — actually that’s the best club.”
What was your club position trajectory?
Economics Club executive vice-president Kirby Fung (a junior): “I joined in freshman year, and because I did well in competitions I became an officer sophomore year. After that I rose to the executive vice-president position.”
How is your poster drawing potential members in?
Society of Women Engineers Club treasurer Sora Wongsonegoro (a junior): “We tried to use catchy colors — our poster is entirely red, so we are trying to draw some eyes. But I also like Science Olympiad’s poster, it looks hand-drawn and I like the use of color.”
What are some underrated clubs on campus?
Science Olympiad Club vice president Alyssa Liu (a senior): “One underrated club is the Science Olympiad. Don’t be afraid to join just because it’s competition-based, everyone is really chill in the club and you’ll have a great experience.”
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Club: Can you explain what the game is about in 10 seconds?
Dungeons and Dragons Club co-president Bryce Lee (a junior): “It’s basically a roleplay game where you can be whatever you want and have a bunch of shenanigans with your friends. I played D&D with co-president Levi Macbeth last year, and I liked creative writing, which is an important part of the game. Levi was a really good storyteller, and I thought it was fun because I got to have a creative outlet in a way that I had never thought before.”
Do you have any competition regarding food?
Speech and Debate Club president Timothy Leung (a junior): “We are giving out otter pops, and I see that there are otter pops somewhere across from us — I don’t know which club, but I think we’re winning the competition.”
Can you pitch your club in 10 seconds?
CS Club co-president Kyleen Liao (a senior): “We’re the Computer Science (CS) club, we learn about algorithms, web development, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and more. It’s beginner-friendly, but at the same time, if you want to talk about more advanced topics, we can do that as well. We prepare you for coding competitions and just introduce you to a lot of topics in CS.”
Green Team: What policies are you planning to implement this year?
Green Team vice president George Hu (a senior): “Green Team is basically the noncommittal version of Green Committee, and this year Green Team is trying to implement new water fountains because our current ones are not good, and we are also going to try to spread climate literacy to encourage people to sort through their waste before dumping it in the trash can.”
Can you name every club you know on campus?
Modern Mystery Club president Elsa Feng (a senior): “I can only name a few. Chess club, Spanish club, Chinese club, Psychology club, Social Justice club, CS club, Astronomy club and Economics club — that’s all I know.”
What’s your favorite part of club rush?
Aspiring to Create English Club president Anais Sobrier (a senior): “When people come up to me and ask me questions for the newspaper.”
What incentives are you providing to get people to join?
Spanish Club president Hillary Gonzalez (a junior): “Mrs. Marks gives extra credit to the students who come to our club meetings. Also, for AP Spanish in Voorhees, she gives cultural credit, so it’s a really good deal to come to our club!”
What are your aspirations for this club outside of school meetings?
Knit for Need Club co-president Shreya Raghuvanshi (a junior): “Our goal is to, one, teach people how to knit and crochet and help them enjoy a relaxing activity together and two, help inspire people to engage with those in need through donating our scarves and hats to charity.”
Rubik’s Cube Club: How fast can you solve a Rubik’s cube?
Rubik’s Cube Club vice president Atish Chatterjee (a junior): “I once solved it in under 10 seconds.”
What fun club events do you have planned this year?
Singing for Smiles Club president Simarya Ahuja (a senior): “We are working on hosting a benefit concert sometime soon and we’re also going to do our usual lunchtime concerts. We’re trying to branch out this year by performing at senior homes around Saratoga.”
Indian Classical Dance Club: What are some interesting facts about the dance form that you think people should know?
Indian Classical Dance Club treasurer Anika Ramakrishnan (a junior): “There are a countless number of mudras, which are elegant hand gestures, each representing daily actions, different animals and beautiful plants.”
What special events do you have planned for the year?
Middle East and North Africa Club president Lena El-Ashmawi (a junior): “We volunteer at different homeless shelters in the Bay Area that help the less fortunate who are from the Middle Eastern and North African community, but we were thinking about doing a potluck and maybe an awareness or speaker series where people talk about their experiences in the culture.”
Gaming Club: What games do you play?
Gaming Club co-president Wesley Deklich (a senior): “We play ‘Valorant’, ‘Clash Royale’, ‘League of Legends’ — basically any game really.”
