With highschool club rosters bursting at the seams due to the growing number of inactive clubs, Chatham High School has recently introduced a fresh alternative for student engagement: interest groups. Similarly to a traditional club, interest groups bond students together based on their shared interests, however, these groups are primarily discussion-focused rather than centered around organized events. Because of its mainly informal atmosphere, interest groups can center around a vast number of topics that all students can explore. This encourages students to delve into more serious topics, including global and political issues to leisurely ones, such as pop culture.
Anyways….enough with the details and let’s dive straight into the groups!
New Interest Groups
Russia-Ukraine War
Being the first interest group that launched nearing the end of last school year, this discussion group primarily focuses on the ongoing war within Ukraine’s borders with Russia. Students are able to participate in serious discussions regarding the initial causes of the conflict back to discussing pivotal events, such as the invasion of Ukraine. Although the group has only hosted one meeting so far, it has already gathered strong interest among students.
Israeli-Palestinian War
Formed jointly with the Russia-Ukraine interest group, the Israeli-Palestinian interest group aims to initiate discussions on the arising tensions between the state of Israel and the Palestinian territory, especially after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel last year. Similarly to the previous interest group, both of these discussions fall under the category of global conflicts, where interested students may find themselves participating in both.
Election Day
Since the 2024 presidential elections are now just right around the corner, it is very fitting that a new Election Day interest group has recently formed. Students are able to discuss the national debates, recently being the Vance-Walz vice presidential debate. This is a great opportunity for students to discuss and openly express their political views on each of the candidates, where all parties are welcome to attend.
Former Clubs Converting into Interest Groups
Other than new interest groups that have been recently formed, some clubs have also converted into interest groups this school year. These clubs have been marked with (IG) on the Schoology page. Some of these former clubs include:
AAPI (Asian-American Pacific Islander) Alliance
Anime Club → Anime, Comics, & Games Group
Debate Club
Women’s Empowerment Club
My Opinion
In all honesty, I think integrating the interest groups is greatly beneficial for students as it allows for them to more openly express their opinions on a range of topics that are usually not discussed outside of class. I also believe that it’s also a fun way to meet new people who also have the same interests and can initiate small communities within the highschool. Although they are new and there are not that many groups that have been established yet, I strongly think that they have potential to grow as they let students share their own interests with like-minded individuals.