Currently, students have the power to create a plurality of diverse clubs. This, however, can lead to the creation of numerous unnecessary clubs that do not sustain student interest and eventually fold.

The vetting process to create clubs should be made stronger so that only those who are truly interested in their club’s topic will be able to successfully create a club.

When club leaders graduate or are otherwise unable to continue to lead their clubs, it is up to any interested students to decide whether or not the club will be revived for the following school year. Many clubs do not find leaders for the following school year and, thus, simply cease to exist, leaving students lost and confused about various clubs becoming inactive.

One such club was Cool Cinema Nerds. Last year, every Friday, members of this club would sit back and enjoy a classic film in government teacher Elizabeth Seabreeze’s classroom. This club, however, did not have a long-term plan to continue past the year.

“I offered the positions to some of my friends but they declined,” senior Mortimer Shifflett said. “Me and my fellow club leaders just never got the time to organize something like this since we joined the NHS leadership board.”

For many, being the founder of a school club is nothing more than another item to put on college resumes. In the admissions process, colleges do look for extracurriculars, like school clubs, and weigh them in their acceptance process, but the experience has to be a meaningful one.

“Whether community involvement, the arts, sports, work experience, research opportunities, family involvements or other activities and hobbies, you should share only what has been particularly meaningful,” according to the freshman application on the University of Maryland College Park website.

In other words, whatever club a student includes in their application, it must be a meaningful one, rather than one that is arbitrary and then dies out as soon as the student leaves or loses interest.

While clubs are important to develop students’ social skills and leadership, it should also be important for those clubs to be meaningful not only in terms of a college application but also to the school community for more than just a year. The leadership of the club should be passed on to rising students who are either in the club or interested in it so these clubs grow and become part of the community. But currently there are too many students who start clubs on a whim, only to see them fold the next year. Next time you hear a friend pitching a club idea, help them make sure it is a meaningful one that will last years into the future.