This year, the club application process started significantly earlier than last year, requiring fewer signatures as opposed to last year, shifting the focus from collecting signatures to developing the details of each club proposal.
Junior and Club Liaison Elvis Chan said the decision to open the application process earlier was aimed to ensure trial runs for clubs could be conducted during the Spring semester. Additionally, the shift in focus from signature collection to gaining a better understanding of club logistics was driven by the idea of better getting to know club leaders and “the application itself, as there is definitely a lot of potential in those applications [over] the ability to collect the signature form.”
Major differences include the process opening in early December rather than late February, a decrease in the signature requirement from 50 to 25 students per grade, and the addition of an interview component. The interview component would require applicants to discuss their potential club with Coordinator of Student Activities Jaime Baranoff, Senior Advisor Blayne Gelbman, and Student Union (SU) Members.
Elvis spoke to The Classic about how the SU decides which new clubs to accept. “We always try to accept clubs that are unique, and that don’t overlap with any missions of other clubs.” He also shared how the SU prioritizes a club’s sustainability: “We are really basing on the responses that we get from the student body and see, from their application, what clubs we have a better understanding of and could stay at Townsend much longer.” However, there is not yet a definite number of new clubs that will be implemented next year in addition to the 86 clubs Townsend currently has. According to Elvis, this number will be dependent on “the resources that we will get for next year.”
Much of these changes, such as the decrease in required signatures and the mandatory interview portion, received several positive responses from students.
Sophomore Ethmi Uyanwatte said, “I feel like the changes overall are positive and definitely better than last year. The signature requirements and the interview requirement are good because they actually allow you to gain insight into the person.”
“I believe the changes in the requirements this year make the application process somewhat simpler,” said junior Sarna Paul. “It doesn’t require as many signatures therefore making that portion of the application quicker while allowing more time to focus on other aspects of the club.”
However, the new application process also presented several challenges for applicants.
Sophomore Saniha Jasrah said, “[My partner and I] faced challenges creating the agenda because it’s really specific and you have to know what you are doing and plan out everything for the meetings while making sure it fits the time requirements.” Additionally, she said, “I think it is difficult to find an advisor at this stage especially if you don’t know if your club is going to make it, so I think it would be good to get the advisor after the proposed idea is confirmed so that it’s more efficient.”
Another requirement of this process is that freshmen and sophomores who transferred are not allowed to create their own clubs, a rule implemented in the 2023-2024 school year. “The idea is that we want them to first become comfortable with the school before they make such big commitments. Because we’re starting the club application this year in December, the freshmen [and incoming sophomores] would only have been in this school for 4 months,” said Elvis.
Freshman Candice Yang expressed her view on this rule. She said, “I think it is unfair, and I do think that freshmen have a lot less busier schedules. We’re not taking any APs yet, and currently, since we’re new to this school, we don’t have many clubs either because we’re still trying things out.”
Additionally, transfer sophomore Briana Inamagua said, “I was annoyed because it’s the fact other sophomores can make theirs unlike transfers who also have the same potential into making an amazing club. In other schools you can simply make any club with the requirements only being grades and attendance.”
