There is a plague sweeping across Carlsbad High. Not as destructive as the Bubonic Plague, but at least as widespread.

This epidemic keeps many students from enjoying their high school experience and affects especially those constantly concerned with their future. The disease: the attraction to school clubs and organizations for college purposes, as opposed to pure interest and passion.

Joining clubs has become an essential part of the high school process. There is no better way to become involved in the place you spend thirty hours a week in than to become a part of a school organization. Too often, however, high school is seen as an audition for college, and a transcript substitutes club enjoyment. Students in high school tend to join groups on campus for the sole benefit of having such participation for college admission officers to see. As a result, clubs and organizations now serve a completely different purpose than they should.

Clubs should be something students are excited to be a part of, not something they are forced to do. So what is the cure for such a plague? The impact of having a multitude of clubs and activities on a transcript will not lessen so long as the competition for college acceptance is high. Therefore, ulterior motives will always exist for students to join school organizations. However, if we instill a desire in students to want to be a part of clubs for their own enjoyment, the current draw clubs have will change.

CHS offers an immense amount of these exciting, meaningful and significant clubs. A majority of them offer volunteer opportunities from which students can gain community service hours while investing their time in something important to them. On the other hand, some clubs exist primarily as organizations that unite students with a common interest and channel school spirit through a cause not directly related to CHS. Both types are truly beneficial to our school and community.

Fortunately for students, school spirit and passion is at a notably high level this year. The rise of our Loud Crowd, as well as the annual fiesta Spanish Club brings to the Homecoming Parade, reveals a level of school spirit that should exist in all organizations. We know from certain groups at Carlsbad that students are dying to let their enthusiasm and passion roam free; now these students need to only take the first step in joining clubs and even extra-curricular classes for this reason.

All groups on campus should have members that are invested in the meaning, not the future benefits, of the organization.

We overcame the Bubonic plague, we can get through this.

If you need a little extra help finding inspiration for a club to join, check out our club finder!