Faith Kim Kicks Club Conflicts to the Curb

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Ajinkya Rane

Clubs commissioner Faith Kim and secretary Chris Choung scan a club constitution and decide whether to merge it with another club.

Jane Zou, Staff Writer

Clubs commissioner and sophomore Faith Kim has the task of sifting through club constitutions and merging clubs in preparation for Club Kick-Off on Oct. 11. The student population grows with each incoming grade level, so it is up to Kim to accommodate for the increase in clubs.

“There were 180 new club requests,” Kim said. “After all the merging and constitution work, there are 132, including the renewed clubs from last year.”

Kim and secretary Chris Choung manage clubs while ASB focuses on the Forthcoming game and dance. At times, the workload seems enormous according to Kim, who is new to the position.

The process to become a club starts with an idea, stemming into an entire club constitution outlining its mission.

“It’s all up to the students’ interests,” ASB co-adviser Sarah Dean said. “For this year, if someone came in, let’s say a freshman, sophomore or junior, who wanted to create a new club that’s not existing, they’re able to if they meet the requirements.”

If the mission is not unique or does not meet the requirements set by ASB, Choung and Kim can merge club requests with similar topics.

“In a constitution, we mainly look for the purpose, name, adviser and president,” Kim said. “The purpose essentially sums up the entire constitution and also determines if a club is community-minded or should be merged.”

What was once a tedious process with just club leadership has evolved into a team effort; more people in a club are working together. Competition with newly established clubs for space at Club Kick-Off is straining the preparation process, even for renewed clubs.

“Last year when we started the physics club, it was difficult because we didn’t have any volunteers for Club Kick-Off, but now, with the new year starting, we have more people interested,” physics club president and sophomore Annie Li said.

Each year will operate differently for Club Kick-Off, and the following years may have club merges and cuts. As for this year, ASB and club presidents are focused on fostering student interests. All types of clubs ranging from academics to hobbies are ready to greet returning and new members alike.