There are over 75 officially recognized clubs at State High, including programs in mathematics, civics, business, engineering, science, and music. Despite the wide range of opportunities for student involvement, no new clubs have been created at State High since 2016.
This has caused dissatisfaction, understandably so, among several organized groups across State High that are not recognized by the school as official clubs. This raises the question of what determines whether organizations should be recognized as a club at State High.
Two of the most high-profile organizations in State High that are not officially recognized by the school are Go With The Flow and The Purple Project.
Go With The Flow is a non-profit organization founded to fight against period poverty in the United States.
“One of the big things that we do is we make bags with period products for the school, but also for around the community. We’re working to try to expand our mission to middle schools,” Go With The Flow Secretary Ava Edwards said.
Launched in April 2023, the student-led Purple Project serves as a smaller chapter of the nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting those impacted by sexual violence.
“Our goal is to break the stigma about sexual assault and have a safe space for people to understand and learn about it,” sophomore Purple Project member Emily Kochakian said.
Organizations without representation from the school face issues in terms of finding a consistent teacher to serve as an advisor and provide a meeting location in the school.
“It feels chaotic because I feel like the school doesn’t have it under control. It definitely makes it difficult; we have a hard time finding an advisor, a meeting space, that’s a struggle for us,” Go With The Flow Vice President Reagan Snavely said.
Additionally, a lack of representation leads to difficulties for these organizations to carry out their operations and events.
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Kochakian said. “We’re not allowed to have fundraisers [inside the school], so we have no money to promote anything. How are we supposed to spread our messages without any way to do it?”
Go With The Flow and The Purple Project are two large organizations created to help people who are struggling in situations that get limited attention. The group’s work is limited by a lack of representation from State High and would benefit from support from the school.
“It doesn’t feel like the boundary between what’s a club and what’s not a club is clearly defined,” Snavely said. “I hope by the time we graduate next year, the school has a clear plan in making Go With A Flow an official club.”
While admitting these groups as official clubs could stretch out funds, with the need to pay a supervisor and the organization’s operations, it is worth the cost for the school to expand its reach to assist those in its community who need support.
