Too many clubs

With the fall semester well underway, students have settled into their routines, juggling classes and extracurricular commitments. In particular, the school’s bustling club landscape – currently boasting over 80 active clubs – may seem like a sign of a thriving, engaged student body. However, a deeper look raises an important question: is having this many clubs truly beneficial, and how much is too much?

Of the 85 clubs from last year, 23 disbanded by the school year’s end. This year, there has been a surge of 25 new clubs, filling up the gaps. The enthusiasm is commendable, but it raises a pressing concern: is the lifespan of some clubs becoming too short to justify their existence, and can they really meet the needs of the student body and avoid simply adding to the cycle of turnovers?

The vast array of clubs available is meant to provide students with opportunities to explore their interests and find a community where they truly fit in, yet the overwhelming number of options can have the opposite effect. Students may instead feel stretched thin and unable to commit fully to any one group. After all, one student can only attend one club a day due to the short lunch period allotted to meetings.

“I have a variety of interests [in] different subjects,” said sophomore Tiffany Wang. “I have to struggle [to choose a club], and it takes me five or ten minutes to decide every time. For example, every time I want to go to Chinese [Culture] Club, there are other clubs that I’m [also] interested in. I need to balance the time to go to both of them.”

This overlap not only limits students from fully engaging with the clubs they care about but also reduces the overall participation. Additionally, as more clubs form, overlapping missions may create confusion about which club to join and lead to fragmented, shallow experiences.

“There’s so many finance related clubs – Investors, Smart Money, Business Club – I can’t even name all of them off the top of my head just because there’s so many,” said senior Katie Yue. “When there are too many clubs about a similar topic, the focus [on that topic] is a little bit less. First of all, people don’t even know which one to go to, and I feel like it would be more impactful if they are all consolidated into one club, because it would get more engagement overall.”

This challenge is compounded by the fact that each club requires faculty supervision, which may be a burden on teachers.

“Teachers have to give up their lunch to be there for the club,” said math teacher Craig Sipple. “For instance, this year, I’m supervising two clubs. Last year I did three clubs. For every club we have, there’s a teacher that has to supervise it.”

This points to a critical imbalance: with the addition of more clubs, faculty members may get stretched thin, and they may be spending time supervising groups that could operate informally or lack meaningful direction.

Some clubs act more as casual friend groups rather than organized bodies working towards a shared goal.
Another sensitive issue is the swelling of clubs formed primarily to bolster college applications. In today’s competitive admissions landscape, starting a club can be an appealing way to stand out and show one’s leadership skills. However, without another central goal in mind, clubs may just end up lacking direction or meaningful activities.

“There are a lot of people who are passionate about an idea and they want to start a club, but at the same time, there are some people that just want to put something on their resume,” Yue said. “[In those clubs] it doesn’t feel like we’re living up to the purpose of the club … It felt a little superficial.”

Some may argue that this trend is simply the byproduct of students being strategic about their futures. Yet, these short-lived clubs may be problematic. Resources are diverted from more “productive” clubs, and members who join with genuine interest may be left disappointed when a club dissolves after just a year.

Ultimately, while the abundance of clubs reflects the enthusiasm and creativity of the student body, it also creates challenges. Without careful oversight, the rapid turnover of some clubs could undermine their long-term impact and the sense of community they aim to create.