Club Rush has been a way to connect with the OG community though there’s always something different about it. More than 30 student clubs gathered in Patriot Plaza on Friday, Aug. 30 during lunch. Different organizations used the club rush event which was sponsored by the Associated Student Body, to promote their activities and encourage other students to join. Over the past four years it seems that the structure of Club Rush hasn’t changed much, but the biggest improvements have included the designs, amount of clubs, and even the location.
“The designs change every year. Every year we try to advertise it online, posters, or through announcements. We don’t want it to feel like it is the same every year,” ASB member, Estenfny Santiago, 12, said.
Each club gets their own poster to display on their table. The ASB students change up the designs of the poster, and advertisements online to get the news out there either through paper of phone that a Club Rush is happening soon. Each year is a fresh start for the ASB to deliver a new experience for everyone that attends the event as well as a good experience for the club.
“When they do Club Rush this is all the kids idea they are the responsible ones and that when they do it they have a sense of pride,” Key club Adviser, Patrick Inouye, said. “The kids that are in Key Club has been for a long time helping others and it also helps kids with helping others and it helps kids feel a sense of pride, key club has had up to 200 people from the past year but this year there are 40 kids which is still a lot,” Inouye, said.
Inouye took over advising Key Club after Science teacher Jim Munson’s retirement. He’s allowed the students to really run the club the way they feel is best. THe students themselves were the ones who determined how the club would participate in the Club Rush event, and how they wanted to attract students to their table. Despite all the best planning, though, there were some elements of the event that were out of everyone’s control.
“The biggest problem I’ve seen besides the heat is that it’s too crowded. We need a bigger place for all the people that are coming. Some changes I recommend is to go to a bigger place like the PAC and not in front of the gym,” Clark Ibarra, 12, said.
These suggested changes can better the experience for the people attending Club Rush by giving them more space and a less chance of bumping into one another giving them an easier time to get to different clubs and see which club they would like to join. Though it wouldn’t only affect the people looking around for a club to join but the clubs themselves would indirectly be benefiting from this, if ASB decides to implement these changes. Feedback goes a long way when hosting an event it helps the organizers and the participants a way to work together to better the experience the next time around. Regardless, of all of these issues Club Rush is still an event that gives everyone the same opportunities to join a club and connect with the OG community.
“I still liked the energy that was in Club Rush. Music pumping, people handing out flyers, and introducing clubs,” Ibarra said.
