Equality Club: memories we made
By Hannah Stephens
Picture of member Ryan Johnson taken by Ryan Johnson
As you walk through the door, you hear laughter filling the dimly lit room. People playing card games in a circle invite you to join in. Others are lying on a couch playing games on their phones, the rest happily chatting away in groups. This is Equality Club. As this school year is coming to a close and students are nearing the end of their high school careers, let’s look at some of the students’ favorite memories from the Equality Club.
Senior Ryan Johnson explains, “Equality is a club where anyone can basically come and hang out. It doesn’t have as strict of a theme as some of the other clubs. It just kind of gives you some time with your friends where you're not doing schoolwork.”
Johnson recalls, “We do events for the months… for one of the months… we did a slideshow of famous women through history. We've had speakers before for certain events.”
Other slideshows they do, such as their special interest presentations, can also be silly and lighthearted.
Member Dominik Valuch explains, ”I think the first year we did it, we had a ranking on how datable different monsters in D&D were, and that was from our valedictorian president Marric Barnes… he’s not dead, may he rest in peace. We’ve had ones that are completely just joke based, but then there’s really informative ones, like recently, like queer history.”
Apart from the presentations, one of Valuch's favorite memories was tabling at the park to promote the Equality Club for the school.
Valuch excitedly states, "We had a lot of people that were from the club at the time come up to us and say hi; we had a lot of parents talk to us, and it was an amazing event, and I would gladly do it again."
Another member, Sara Baldo, who is a foreign exchange student from Italy, joined the club at the start of this school year. While it can be worrisome coming to a new country full of different people from a different culture, the club helped her make new friends.
Picture of member Sara Baldo taken by Mallory Sepúlveda
She happily explains, “There was like a game that we did… when you have to go to ask other people if they are able to ride a bicycle of [other silly things]. It’s really fun to do, entertaining and also [a way] to meet new people. I really liked it. I felt welcomed and people were interested in my culture and asked me a lot of questions.”
Through all of their activities, the most important memory to the members was the friendships they discovered and the bonds they created with one another.
Johnson explains, “The teacher is great, Ms. Miller... there are a lot of friend groups… [it’s good for] people who are part of minorities that aren't really visible in school… It's kinda just finding people who like the same things as you or have the same experiences.”
The club has gained much recognition and, at times, had the highest number of visitors out of the school's clubs. This has only been achieved by the welcoming spirit the club and its members foster.
Overall, the club provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about different cultures and find a community of welcoming friends. If you are interested in joining the Equality Club, you can find it in Mrs. Miller's classroom on the East Campus every Thursday after school until 4 p.m. If you are ready to learn about different people around your community while also having some fun playing games, Equality Club is the place to go.