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The Nichols Hall atrium was packed and bursting with activity during the upper school’s Club Fair on Sept. 13, as students flocked to see the offerings of the more than 60 active clubs on campus. Club representatives set up tables and chatted with fellow students about a huge range of interests, including technology, art, music, sports and social justice. Clubs employed unique strategies to entice passersby. Members of the Unplugged Guitar Club got their fair share of attention by staging an impromptu jam session just outside the Nichols Hall entrance.
“We just want to create an environment where people can come and play and learn no matter what experience [they have],” said senior Matthew Sutton, one of the Unplugged Guitar Club representatives working the table.
Ashley Jia, grade 11, of the Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) says the long-running student organization holds discussions about “the LGBTQ+ community and what’s going on with the world and how to help and be active.”
“We essentially try to spread awareness about a lot of issues going on in the community,” said GSA member Clarissa Wang, grade 11, “and I think that’s really important for increasing acceptance and equality.”
As their name suggests, Music Around the World is a club organized around discussions about music from various parts of the globe. “We want to explore different cultures and perspectives, and maybe even history and politics through a musical platform,” said club member Divija Bhimaraju, grade 12. “We just want to discuss and explore music together as a community. Sort of like a safe space to explore music.”
One of the more specific clubs represented at the fair, the Tea Club explores the many fascinating aspects of one of the world’s most popular beverages. “We talk about teas of different cultures and we trace their histories,” explained club representative Leon Lu, grade 11. “At each meeting, we will ask everybody to sample the tea we are talking about.”