SOPHOMORE ORIENTATION: Clubs at DHS

Learn more about each club by scrolling over the name. Note: because the dates listed above may change, check the daily bulletin for meeting announcements for contact the adviser. Visit the Student Government website for a complete list of clubs.

By Grace Richey,

Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

With nearly 70 clubs registered with Student Government for the 2014-2015 school year, students have a plethora of diverse club options, ranging from the Aeronautical Association to Fantasy Football Club and the National Honors Society.

Most clubs meet during lunch in the classroom of the teacher adviser and are open to all students to visit at will.

However, a few groups mandate prior registration in order to become a certified member. Key Club, National Honor Society (NHS), and California Scholarship Federation (CSF) each require registration along with a payment of five dollars.

At the beginning of each semester, students interested in applying to become part of NHS and CSF must sign up during a specified registration period, usually announced over the daily bulletin. Along with the five dollars, the previous semester’s grade report (sent home in the mail) and a log of 20 community service hours must be submitted.

Many first time members forget to re-register each semester and thus lose eligibility for the higher degrees of membership.

Both clubs have their own specific rules regarding community service hours as well as GPA requirements. However, new members do not need to submit community service hours at their first registration.

“It’s important for sophomores to join NHS so they can get a feel of the importance of community service during their high school years. Also, it looks great on college [applications],” president of NHS Louis Pak said.

Key Club, on the other hand, has fewer registration requirements and is mainly focused on providing students with local community service opportunities.

“Before, I was always interested in volunteering but I didn’t know how to get involved,” incoming officer Mikaela Manzano said.

Although CSF, NHS, and Key Club are some of the biggest clubs at DHS (with CSF totaling over 300 students in the spring of 2014), many other clubs have less strict participation requirements.

Freedom From Hunger Club keeps busy all year by planning canned food drives and hosts an annual race to raise money for their parent organization, which provides microloans to women in developing countries.

The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) also works towards promoting its cause by hosting Day of Silence.

The variety of clubs on campus includes the Drama Department, Math and Science Tutors, and Health Care Careers Club, all of which wish to draw in more participants this year.

“I’m not someone who believes you should go to clubs because you want them on your resume,” Chess Club president Katherine Dimond said. “You should want to expand your horizon of opportunities and try something unknown because it interests you.”

Speaking from experience, president of Teen Health Awareness Club Gaelyn Walche believes “[clubs] gets a person more involved in their community and allows them to network with other people who have similar interests as them.”