Student clubs are one of the largest parts of life and engagement at Andover. From the screaming students and maze-like rows of stands, posters, and sign-up sheets during Club Rally to the endless emails that flood student inboxes on the weekly, Andover’s club culture is both vibrant and expansive, providing a space for students of any and all interests to explore their passions. With “Youth from Every Quarter” bestowing Andover with a diverse student body that flaunts a dazzling array of talents and skills, including musical, academic, athletic, artistic, and areas beyond these categories entirely, the Andover club scene is similarly host to a colorful collection of specialties: literary magazines like The Courant, cultural groups like the Hispanic Culture Club, APAC and other dance teams, speech and debate organizations such as the Philomathean Society, and even clubs like the Dinosaur Club. In addition to the 100+ clubs already existing on campus, countless new ones are constantly being created with each passing year, pioneered by groups of students who see it as a way to carve out a dedicated environment for something they care about. However, at the same time, innumerable other ones are silently sliding into the abyss. Whether it be due to inactivity from graduating Seniors who had a unique vision or slowly diminishing engagement through the years, the list of clubs that may only be alive in name is also only getting longer and longer. To that end, we would like to remind everyone of a saying that may seem trite, but whose message remains golden nonetheless: quality over quantity.
At Andover, it is easy to become swept up in the ocean that is old clubs, new clubs, and clubs yet-to-exist. While we certainly excel in the quantity department, there is perhaps more that could be done to ensure that our clubs are meeting similar standards when it comes to quality. Not always, but oftentimes, the two fall into a tradeoff relationship (think about this in terms of your life, too): when we have more of something, it is harder to preserve the value or individuality of each one. On campus, this manifests in multiple clubs having the same general focus, thus making it difficult for each one to find their differentiating factor that sets them apart from the rest to attract a unique audience. In this scenario, there are typically only two outcomes – one of them trumps the rest, or all of them fail to maintain consistent membership – neither of which are particularly favorable. To prevent such circumstances from becoming a pattern amongst Andover club culture, perhaps stricter guidelines for creating new clubs is something worth considering. For student leaders aspiring to create a new club, having such a policy to double-check that the club truly has a highlight or differentiating factor that will spearhead it towards success before the club is officially established might help prevent unsatisfactory turnout later on. And for all students, stricter club creation guidelines would minimize the likelihood of five different clubs all doing very similar activities, therefore reducing confusion and the possibility of being overwhelmed by number of options available.
But quality over quantity applies on a personal basis, too. It is inevitable that club participation at Andover carries the undertones of preparing for the college applications that loom over us and though it is impossible to magically remove our subconscious desires to craft the “perfect” college application and have one more item to add to our resumes, we can take note of the fact that pursuing projects and clubs that truly excite us ultimately leads to a more fulfilling club experience. As students, we shouldn’t treat clubs as checklists to complete for college–instead, we can cherish them as on-campus spaces to experiment and take risks without the pressure of the classroom. Admittedly, it can feel as if we are falling behind when we notice our close friends and peers climbing the administrative ladders of what seem to be countless clubs. At times, it may be tempting to throw ourselves into as many board applications as possible, or start a new club to instantly obtain a founder or co-president position. Once again, we must acknowledge that the power of participating in clubs is to ignite the spark of joy and learning within you. Rather than hunting for titles, we can choose to attend clubs to develop our skills in certain fields. Should a board application fall through, we can rest assured that the time we spent in the club was not “wasted.” Rather, that we gained skills and made connections that are meaningful to us in the long run. If we spend our time engaging with things we love and building skills we care about, the time we invest is valuable nonetheless.
