There are over a hundred official clubs currently active at Berkeley High School (BHS), the subjects of which range from Taylor Swift to climate change, civic engagement, and beyond. In particular, there are many activism, specifically environmental activism, clubs at BHS. With multiple activism clubs centered around similar topics, one might wonder if these clubs are helping their cause, or if too many clubs are slowing down any progress that might be made. Although many clubs at BHS have similar focuses, their existence ultimately benefits their causes.
There are many reasons why a high school student might want to join a club, such as pursuing their interests, seeking to make a difference, looking to make connections with like-minded people, or wanting to become more active members of the BHS community. As genuine as those reasons might be, there is no denying the influence of impending college applications and the need to build impressive resumes during the crucial four years of high school.
When considering this, one might link it to the fact that there are multiple clubs that center around similar topics, the most prominent being activism. These clubs support undeniably important causes, but one might wonder if the motivations for starting these clubs aren’t without consideration of how good it would look on a resume. There are currently four official environmental clubs at BHS, each with similar descriptions and focuses, those being BHS LEAF, Green Team, Youth Sustainability Alliance (YSA), and Youth Vs. Apocalypse, as well as some others.
Regardless of the factor of college resumes, these organizations are doing great things for the Berkeley community and beyond. Their impact is extremely important, as these clubs highlight important problems and raise the next generation of change-makers. “We’re not just making change here but we’re making change across the world, and our goal is to keep expanding,” explained Roan Maguire-Shashoua, the leader of YSA, when discussing the global efforts of their club.
BHS’ climate-oriented clubs have left a huge impact on BHS, and their impact is about to get a lot bigger. “We have formed this little group called the BHS Green Alliance, and are already coordinating with the other environmental clubs,” stated Ilana Nickolaus, the leader of the Green Team, expressing plans for a union between the clubs. While there are no bad intentions behind having so many similar clubs at BHS, there is potential to join these groups of like-minded people together to create a larger community of young activists striving to make a real difference in the world.