Students find a place to belong in clubs

For students who didn’t have time to go down to the Winter Term Club Fair on Jan. 24-25 and feel like you missed out on the opportunity to join a club, do not fret! The Advocate is here to help: I had the pleasure of attending both days at the fair and I was exposed to so many fun and diverse opportunities. Without further adieu, let’s get into what this term’s clubs have to offer to Saints students.

Clay Club

This club offers a lot of fun and interesting opportunities. They focus on creating, and on fundraising. A lot of the ceramic work you will make in this club will have the chance to be sold at local events, including the upcoming ‘Mug Your Sweetheart’ sale happening on Feb. 14 in the Visual Arts Gallery. This club offers new sculpting experiences, such as participating in many workshops (all funded by club fundraisers) and 24-hour firing sessions with a wood-fired kiln. If you like to get hands-on and love making art, this is the club for you.

Fisheries Club

“We like all things fish.”

Keeping it short and sweet, this club focuses on… well, fish. The growth, lifespan, health, history, conservation of such – the whole shebang. If you were to join the Fisheries Club, you could expect to be participating in fun events such as taking trips to local fish hatcheries, going crabbing and clamming on the coast, joining fishing trips off the river, and even visiting aquariums. If you are a fan of anything aquatic and fishy, definitely check this club out.

Swim Club

“We welcome all levels of swimming for a fun experience.”

The swim club is a very inclusive and supportive club that is here to provide education and a fun experience. Whether you are a Michael Phelps-caliber swimmer or more of a doggy paddler, this club will give you opportunities to refine your skills and comfort in the water. While also having a super fun time, of course! This club spends its time in the water, whether it is playing games or sports, or just splashing around. Dive on in and give it a try.

ASL Club

This club focuses on American Sign Language. It is literally a very “hands on” language that encompasses a whole body expression, and is highly visual, which makes it easier to learn. In the ASL Club you can expect to learn and try to perfect speaking the ASL language and learn its culture, as well as participate in movie nights and silent hang outs and other fun events. Interestingly enough, this club’s director told me “…ASL is one of two or three surviving languages still taught on our (MHCC) campus out of the 25 that we used to offer.” If you have ever wanted to get into a new culture or language, this club would be a great opportunity for you.

 GSA (Gay- Straight Alliance) Club

“We’re friendly and open.”

This club is a place to find a sense of community, a place to be understood and to understand more about the queer community and even yourself. If you are LGBTQ+ or a supporter of the community and want to be more involved, or need a community around you, this is a great spot to start. Check out the GSA Club.

Japanese Culture Club

This club is considered a flexible club, one open to anything and everything Japanese-related. Members spend their time learning the language, exploring toys and games, creating origami, and so much more. This term they are said to be focusing a lot more on Japanese film and television – of course, including anime. The Japanese Culture Club might be a good fit for you if you’re a busy person, because it currently has no set time or day for meeting. Instead the members communicate over a Japanese coordination app called LINE. (How cool and new age is that?.) So, if you love anime or Japan and want to get involved in a community of culture, this is the club for you.

Forestry Club

“Fun, accessible, educational!”

The Forestry Club is a very multimodal community that offers a wide variety of fun, outdoorsy activities. Anyone who is passionate about the outside world, including biology, geology, dendrology, or anything else related to the woods, is welcome to come. This club is a lot of fun and has a lot going on. Some awesome stuff you can expect to partake in includes weekly hikes, weekly rock climbing meets on the new campus rock wall, attending nature conferences, planting trees, making hatchery visits, and just spending a lot of time outside. If this sounds like your jam or you just need an excuse to get more fresh air, join the forestry club.

Native Nation Club

The Native Nation Club focuses on the recognition, education, and perseverance of Native American culture and art. Offering a community and place to gather, this club will be focusing on sharing culture and history through traditional activities such as beading, storytelling, crafts, drum song, and films. The biggest goal the club has this year is to bring back the powwow. The Native Nation club is not only a fun, safe place for indigenous people but also welcomes anyone who is passionate or interested in the culture. 

The Advocate

(Hey that’s us; we staffed a table at the fair!)

While not technically an MHCC club, The Advocate is a great group to join, not only because it mimics real-life experiences you would have as a journalist, but also because it offers so many different opportunities: from learning how to use different digital programs to create page layouts, to being a photographer, getting the chance to be heard by writing stories, putting your writing and editing skills to work, or just sharing and creating good content ideas. The Advocate is a powerful resource with which to learn, connect, and grow. Everything we do as a club is a great experience that you can put on your resumé – and working for the Advocate is also a real job that you would be compensated for, with tuition waivers or salary/stipends! (Check our Issue 4 for more details).

If you have ever wanted to create, write, edit, or just have your voice heard, come check out the Advocate (and its springtime Venture magazine) team today.