LIFE

With schools transitioning to online learning, students aren't sure how to continue to participate in extracurricular activities from home. Whether you're dying to connect with your classmates or just need to beef up your college application, clubs are a substantial part of high school. They provide ways for students to give back to their communities, express themselves creatively, or even just learn something new. Student-run organizations shouldn't have to fade away as we study from home, so here are three ways you can start and run your club from your bedroom!

Ask a teacher for help

If you've never run a club before, your greatest resource is a good teacher. They'll know all about the process for creating an official club, have experience with running meetings, and they can connect you with students who might be interested in joining. Your teacher can decide how much of a time commitment they want to make, and you can create a meeting schedule from there. Even if they don't attend every meeting, it's always a good idea to have a teacher on your side to help you make decisions or responsibly plan events.

Get a social media account

Traditionally, clubs look for recruits at a student fair at the beginning of the year, but since campuses are closed, you'll have to advertise on social media like Instagram or Twitter. Create an account and post about your club's purpose and information about meetings. If you're running a book club, you could post your book of the month on Instagram, or a fashion club could share a design tutorial on TikTok!

Plan socially distant events 

Until you're able to meet safely in person, you'll have to get creative when planning fun events. For example, if you're starting an art club at your school, you might consider looking into virtual museum tours. Or if you were supposed to take over the film club this year, plan a movie screening through Netflix Party!

by Elise G. Esquibel | 9/28/2020