From cultural clubs like South Asian Student Association to academic ones like Model UN and to leisurely clubs like Book Club, Niles West has a total of 107 clubs. But how do they come about, and what’s the process of getting one started?
First comes an idea; the idea needs to be different from other clubs already at Niles West, but it also be engaging enough to gain an average of 10 members. Then you need a sponsor for the club, which would be a staff member who is interested in advising and chaperoning the club. Next, you’ll need to fill out a form. The form asks for some basic information like your name, the club idea, the sponsor and more. Lastly, there’s a trial period where the club hosts an event, has a fundraiser and holds meetings. The process begins first semester, and if officially approved by student activities, it becomes a fully-fledged club second semester.
This year the only club to pass the process was Card Gaming Club. Sophomore co-creators Edwin Schultz and Tristan Lee initially joked about creating the club, but after some consideration, they decided to do it.
“I think the process is fairly easy, but the hardest parts were finding a sponsor, since a lot of teachers are already sponsoring clubs, and they have to help organize an event and fundraiser,” Schultz said.
The process of creating clubs involves many students, including the student leadership team, which makes trial clubs official. The team consists of two representatives from each student group.
“The process is quite simple: all club leaders who are a part of the leadership team meet and have many discussions about a club’s requirements and ability to do well in Niles West. Anything that hopes to be a club receives one semester, after that the council reconvenes and we discuss. I think the card game club was approved as it had a lot of push to become a club,” senior and member of student leadership Giovanni Galanto said.
Director of Student Activities, Caitlin Lucci, thinks that as much student involvement as possible in club processing is important because students will be able to gauge the level of interest their classmates might feel in a club.
“We really are trying to make our clubs viable and make sure that there is a core group of students who I’m supportive of students gathering together for a common interest. But in order to be a club, because we only have a certain number of clubs that we’re able to greenlight, I want to make sure that the clubs that we offer are hitting a wide variety of interests. I also think it’s really important for students to be involved because these are student-run clubs,” Lucci said.
Lucci hopes to make some changes in the future, like moving the day club interest forms are due (this year it was Oct. 1) to right after spring break, so trial clubs can take part in the involvement fair in August.
