Photo Courtesy of Paul Invierno

   The sun beams down upon the rows of tables placed throughout the busy areas of the quad, as hundreds of students roam around the stands for a potential group that piques their interest. Among the crowds of students eager to sign up for their favorite club again, lies a lesser-known club that’s destined to collect dust.

   Many of these groups either maintain a small group of regular attendees or end up going defunct altogether. The reasons range from an inconvenient meeting schedule, lack of public interest, etc.

   For example, Revolution Gaming Club (RVO) was a group dedicated to fighting games, such as Street Fighter and Tekken. Donovan Baldwin, one of RVO’s presidents, was optimistic about the club and had high hopes for its success.

   “I (wanted) something big, you know, like tournaments, weekly meetings where we get together and play, (and) large scale events,” Baldwin says.

   However, over the school year, Baldwin and his other club presidents had encountered multiple problems that led to them having to leave the club on an indefinite hiatus.
“Membership was just low; it ended up becoming just a bunch of friends playing Street Fighter.” Baldwin says. “I know there’s a lot of gamers, but fighting games, I think it’s more of a niche.”

   In addition, The GBHS Film Club, hosted by Jayden Theuriet, its club president, is another small club that has recently gone temporarily inactive.
“There (have)  been people attending, but I would say that it’s really hard to get a lot of people to come to the meetings, especially when there’s not very many people interested…” Theuriet says. “A lot of people haven’t been going, so we’re just kind of taking a break from it right now.”

   Nevertheless, Theuriet is optimistic about the club’s eventual return from its hiatus, as she hopes to host the club again after she has finished her AP tests.
“We would have a few people come to every meeting, and we would talk about random stuff relating to the film industry.” Theuriet says. “So I would say it was doing pretty well.”

   On the other hand, other clubs have stayed active over the school year, regardless of their small size. Anna Hooglander and Sabine Kanz, presidents of the ADHD Club are pleased to have found success with regularly meeting with their club, despite only having around 4 dedicated members in their group.

   “We wanted to give a place of relief, a place of safety, … a place to help all students thrive.” Hooglander says. “There (have) been a couple of people that I would have never encountered in Granite Bay at all, but because they’re part of my club, I get to know them so well.”

   Though her club isn’t as well-known as other clubs, Hooglander is happy that her club has managed to achieve her goal.
“I think I did achieve the vision, (which) was to destigmatize a topic, to create a healthy safe space, and to educate the public.” Hooglander says. “Even if a club’s membership is small, it’s still important. Because if you have at least one loyal member, that means the world to me.”

   Tamara Givens, the school’s current Activities Director, is responsible for overseeing both the days of Club Rush and the many clubs at GBHS.
“(Back then), we used to only do one day (of Club Rush), (but) now we (do) two days because we have so many clubs.” Givens says. “We have more than 90 clubs; most of them do nothing.”

   Though GBHS is home to many clubs for a variety of interests and hobbies, Givens states that the recent surge of clubs has become immoderate, and she hopes that less clubs end up defunct shortly after their debut.

   “A lot of kids, for some reason, think that … they need to start a club (to get into college).” Givens says. “Most clubs don’t do much, so if they’re not doing anything, then it’s not going to help (them) get into college.”

   Givens said that successful clubs are hosted by those who are extremely passionate and organized about it, which have led to long-lasting groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Gender Sexuality Alliance clubs.

   “I don’t think the size of the club is what matters (…) the whole point of clubs is to connect (with) people.” Givens says. “People just find their passion and encourage other people to follow that passion with them.”