Clubs host Speak Up for Change events

The Speak Up for Change week’s theme of Stepping Forward for mental health gave clubs a chance to host related events during the week of Jan. 31. 

Monday

The four events included the Chess Club’s “Destress with Chess,” Nanoseed’s “Sticker Therapy,” Dear Asian Youth’s discussion on “Mental Health in the AAPI Community” and Neuroscience Club’s presentation on “Mental Health and the Brain.”

For “Sticker Therapy,” Nanoseed structured the meeting as a therapeutic session where members and participants drew on pieces of sticker paper and cut them out into shapes.

The “Mental Health in the AAPI Community” and “Mental Health and the Brain” discussions took place during lunch; club officers introduced the challenges Asian youth are currently facing in society, junior president Jasmine Ispasoiu said.

“We wanted to host an open discussion where anyone can come and talk about their experiences surrounding mental health and getting help,” Ispasoiu said. “Since the lack of mental health initiatives is clear in the Asian community, we wanted to talk about how to destigmatize mental health.”

This idea stemmed from junior treasurer Allison Tan, who spoke at the SUFC rally about the inaccessibility of mental health resources for Asian youth.

The Neuroscience Club continued the theme of open mental health discussion through their talk on “Mental Health and the Brain,” which analyzes the overlap between anatomy of the brain and mental health.

The club created a presentation detailing three different types of mental health disorders: depression, anxiety and PTSD. After explaining how these disorders affect the brain, they showed ways for teens to improve  their mental health.

“I think it was a really cool way to get across this information because it goes into more of the science part,” junior officer Ojas Somani said. “It appeals to more of the people who are looking for an academic perspective while also conveying this very real, very big problem in Saratoga.”

Tuesday

Chinese Club put on a Lunar New Year Celebration” while the Genders & Sexualities Alliances (GSA) hosted “Let’s Talk: Mental Health & LGBTQ+.”

With Lunar New Year on Tuesday, the Chinese Club found the celebration to be a great way to highlight many students’ heritage and emphasize the importance of mental health. They wanted to encourage students to “unwind, de-stress and relax” by watching performances, senior Chinese Club president Derek Hsu said. The club also sold egg rolls and milk tea buns to fundraise.

Seniors Dizi (bamboo flute) player Eliane Liu, vocalist Taylor Zhou and Guzheng (Chinese harp) player Selina Chen performed that day; the latter two have been organizing Lunar New Year performances at school since their freshman year

“I’ve always loved the Dizi, having played it for over a decade, and getting to perform it for Lunar New Year has been great,” Liu said. “It’s sad this is my last year performing at SHS.”

GSA hosted an open discussion about mental health in the LGBTQ+ community, where many members were able to give their thoughts, opinions and learn about resources to help the LGBTQ+ community. 

They also invited CASSY therapist Albert Xiong, who presented a study on transgender people of color. He talked the effect of experiences with discrimination or homophobia on mental health.

“It was really interesting to listen to his presentation,” GSA senior co-president Maanvi Chawla said. “I hope the members feel empowered and comfortable. That’s the point of GSA: We try to create a safe space for people to feel comfortable sharing.”

Wednesday

Leo Club hosted “Sandwich Packaging for the Homeless,” Drama Club hosted “Ripping Up Negativity” and Singing for Smiles performed multiple songs at “Singing for Change.”

Leo Club partnered with Loaves and Fishes, a San Jose-based family soup kitchen that caters to the homeless. The morning of the event, senior co-president Viraaj Reddi picked up supplies such as peanut butter, jelly and bread for students to make sandwiches.

“We want to be able to give [sandwiches] to the homeless on days when they have no other alternative to fill their stomachs,” Reddi said.

The volunteers packaged over 200 sandwiches, all of which Reddi dropped off at Loaves and Fishes for distribution.

Later, Singing for Smiles’s five performers delivered a live performance of songs about motivation and happiness, written by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Billie Eilish and Rachel Platten.

Sophomore Simarya Ahuja, the secretary of the club, said that although a typical event only includes two or three singers, this time the club got enough signups to sing all the way through lunch.

”During a performance of ‘Climbing to the Moon,’ I saw a couple freshman waltzing,” Ahuja said. “It was very satisfying to see that people were really enjoying the performance.”

Thursday

Persian Club’s “Chai and Chat” and Tri-M’s “Tri-M in the Quad” shared the spotlight.

Free tea and pastries were available at Persian Club’s event, where students drank chai and talked about life, stories and struggles, senior president Sadaf Sobhani said.

“It was very inspiring for people to share their stories,” Sobhani said. “Drinking tea pays homage to Persian culture and makes it more comforting as well.”

Tri-M had to cancel their event due to one of their main performers getting sick.

Friday

SUFC week wrapped up with Crafting Club’s “Finger Knitting,” Girl Up Club’s “Domestic Violence: Allyship and Stepping Forward” discussion and Internet of Things’s presentation on “Intersecting Technology with Mental Health.”

The Crafting Club decided to take a more hands-on approach to incorporating mental health into their club meeting, choosing to host a finger-knitting event because it was simple and accessible. 

“Personally, and also for a lot of other people, crafting something is calming and almost therapeutic in a way,” senior president Cheryl Wu said.

Meanwhile, Girl Up created an open space where students discussed domestic violence victims’ experience with the deterioration of mental health due to mental and physical abuse.

“Often, experiencing abuse makes you question whether what you’re experiencing is real or if you’re making it up or if you’re crazy,”said junior Allison Tan, the group’s treasurer. “Covering this topic helped students fully understand and grasp what abuse is and realize that it’s a lot more common than people may think.”

The Internet of Things club used a lunchtime meeting to focus on how technology and apps can help improve mental health, while acknowledging the negative side effects of technology in mental health, senior president Allison Lim said.

“We talked about different mental health apps — such as Headspace — as well as how to mitigate technology’s adverse effects on mental health,” Lim said. “Normally, we wire and work with circuits instead of going over the presentations, but I think that SUFC is a great time for students to take a step back while also learning about how to deal with, evaluate and improve their mental health.”