Every single Thursday in room L-5 the lights flicker on and the door opens with a greeting from Ms. Rolph. As everyone gathers their lunch and sits down, the lights dim and a video begins, most members don’t realize what it takes to get to this point.
On campus most people don’t even know this club exists, even though an announcement goes out almost weekly. Since the club began in November, it has had a steady flow of members, club president Eshan Mukkamala divulged that there has not been a problem with membership but instead “most people not [caring] about history.” Mukkamala shared that the struggle with getting members off of their phones has been worse than actually getting people to the club meetings. Club member Elesh Sahoo shared that he has noticed the club becoming more engaging because “they’re doing Kahoots.” Although the phone issue is still apparent it is important to note that club officers are attempting to create more engaging discussions at meetings.
People who are genuinely interested in history and use these meetings as something to look forward to throughout their day. Mukkamala shared he is “a really big history and geography nerd. I know so much about it, I just want to share it with more people.” This is the main reason why the club survives, a strong and passionate president who actually believes in the idea of the club. It’s becoming more and more prominent that people don’t create clubs for passion, they found them to create a fluffy college application. They lack real passion and that shows not just to the advisor but it takes a toll on club members who are actually interested in the topics discussed. With the Geo-History club, that changes, a president that loves what he does. However, that is not the case with all board members, Mukkamala gave insight into the inner workings of the club and shared that “they don’t do their jobs. And then I’m boiled down on the last day with two periods until lunch, doing the work of a Kahoot and picking a video …”
As mentioned above, it’s not uncommon to see people create clubs just to fluff their college application. Other schools nationwide are seeing this problem as well, schools such as Coppel High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Palo Alto High School are also experiencing the same issues with unmotivated club leadership and members who are just in the club to fluff college applications.
Geo-History club, although new and relatively unknown within the student body is incredibly important to the wellbeing of some students, they are a place for students to relax and interact with other students who have similar interests. Without them Rocklin High School wouldn’t really be what it is today, it’s important to support these clubs and students in any way you can.
