This year, there are about 117 active clubs at Aliso Niguel High School, which is an increase in the number of clubs from last year.
The clubs on campus are split into three categories: service, academic and extracurricular.
Service clubs, seemingly the most common type of club on campus, provide students with opportunities to volunteer for the local community. Highly populated clubs in this classification include the National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation, which are nationally recognized clubs of character.
Academic clubs are founded by students to teach their peers new information or further classroom learning. Popular clubs of this category include the Science and Math Olympiads, which compete against other schools, or ones focused on preparing students for future careers such as the Biomedical Engineering Club.
The extracurricular section includes all other clubs that allow students to express themselves and their personal interests that are not for educational benefit or volunteering purposes. Typical extracurricular focuses include communities of similar backgrounds or hobbies. For example, the South Asian Union, Persian and Latino Clubs unite students with similar backgrounds while the Craft Club and the Dungeons and Dragons Club join those with common interests.
Viana Najafi (11) the Associated Student Body Commissioner of Clubs admits there is “definitely an increase in the number of clubs, but it’s been over 100 for a few years now.”
With all of the diverse choices for which activities to partake in, they certainly beg the question: Why are students creating so many clubs at Aliso Niguel?
Najafi gives her input on the inquiry: “The rising number of clubs is definitely because our students are just very passionate and interested in what they do and what they want to tell to the rest of the student body.”
Now more than ever, students feel free to express their own unique interests in ways they want to aid the local community or simply enjoy their time in high school. Clubs can allow students to have a space, outside of purely the material they learn in class, to receive support from teachers and their peers about a portion of who they are outside of school.
At the same time, many young people around the country feel pressured to participate in school activities to present themselves as well-rounded teenagers who are prepared for college or the workforce. Due to this immense compulsion to stand out as an exemplary student, some could argue that students join clubs mainly for their personal benefit, rather than truly caring about volunteering for others or finding interest in a new subject.
Whatever the specific reason for creating or joining a club, it is clear that they have a profoundly positive impact on the students at Aliso Niguel High School. Members of these groups are connected to peers with similar recreational activities who they might not have become friends with or even have met without a club.
If there is a club you want to join but you cannot find it on the school website, create it yourself!
