Reinstate Clubs! Suspension Raises Concerns

On Wednesday, October 7th, clubs were canceled at THS.  An email from Mr. Scott went out the staff, claiming that “As a result of the amount of disruption and behavioral issues,” clubs would be temporarily suspended.

This shocking news came very unexpectedly and a lot of club advisors and club members were left stunned over this. Club advisors Maxwell Mason and Jessie DeMarco had some thoughts on the impact. Mason runs the Magic the Gathering game club and DeMarco runs the FCCLA club (The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America). They both have very different approaches to the question. 

How does the removed club time during school affect your club?

DeMarco/FCCLA: “Significantly. We pay dues to maintain active members and officers, and we have ongoing partnerships with 4th-grade pen pals at Southwest Elementary, as well as continuous fundraising efforts. Relying solely on periodic check-ins and emails with members, many of whom face transportation challenges and already receive numerous emails daily, makes sustaining these efforts particularly difficult.”

Mason/MTG: “For our particular club not that much, we’ve been meeting after school every Thursday, so it didn’t really hurt us. I think where it hurts the most is for students curious about the club. They don’t want to invest the time after school just yet so then they don’t have that club time to come and check us out.” 

Can you think of any solutions or suggestions to get that club time back and under control? 

Demarco/FCCLA: “Students should not be allowed to leave their advisory name until they have a laminated pass from their club advisor and there should be hard copy lists or digital lists that reflect the accurate club members’ names for attendance so that other teachers can check before sending a student to a club they claim to be a member of.”

Mason/MTG:  “It’s so difficult because there are always going to be some kids who don’t want to fall in line, however, it’s really unfair to the kids who are doing what they are supposed to be doing. I think the conditions to leave advisory need to be very strict and strictly enforced. To solve this problem it takes everyone.”

Students at THS are against the club suspension and feel strongly that clubs should be in school. The Raider Report polled over 150 students and the results were as follows:

Students Share Their View

Freshmen to seniors overall believe that the club suspensions are a negative thing. 57% of students claim to be directly impacted, and 96% believe that clubs should be during the school day. A few club members shared their thoughts.

Nathan Pepler, Junior: “We are Losing Money!”

“I am a part of five different clubs and having time Tuesday to meet is crucial. With the cancellation all clubs are attempting to meet outside of school, taking over nearly all of my time. This absence of club times is hurting our clubs as we are losing time to plan events thus losing us money. The club period should be reinstated as soon as possible as it is necessary for the good of each club.”

Cheyenne Chen, Sophomore: “Longer Advisory is Nice.”

“I would say the removal of clubs impacted the majority of us negatively. However, I really enjoy the long advisory period so having clubs after school or during a different time is something that I personally would prefer.”

Stephanie Penaranda, Freshman: “Unfair – I paid my dues!”

“It’s my first year at Torrington High School and during the club fair I joined the club HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America).  I had to pay thirty dollars to join and for that money not to be used for educational learning due to the lack of club time is unfair. I find clubs a way for us to be able to express ourselves and find new interests. The cancellation of clubs have made it hard for freshmen and new students to look into new interests. We should be able to be in our clubs and for other students who aren’t in clubs to stay in their advisories and let us have a chance to be in our clubs.”

There is a light at the end of the tunnel in all of this. In a recent student focus group meeting principal Mr. Scott noted that the administrative team found a solution, and will bring it up at staff meeting next Monday, 10/28. He hopes is to have clubs back up and running by November.