Covid Can’t Crush Clubs

Held at the beginning of the year, Club Rush sparked the beginning of student led organizations. It occurred on August 17 in  the hallway between the library and rotunda, which was filled with tables stacked side-by-side with sign up sheets for unique clubs open to all the students. Now with semester one finished, the influx of Covid cases has affected many of these SVHS clubs’ turnouts and plans. 

The Model UN club, which has consistently gone to conferences on the East Coast (most recent trip being to Washington D.C.), have had to change their plans due to travel restrictions. Senior and Co-President Sean Tomany mentions that now the club “has plans to attend a conference in Berkeley in early March.” Despite the change in travel locations, Tomany believes Model UN “[has] done well considering the circumstances.” 

Junior, Peyton Rosa, the co-president of Earth Club, says the club is “very limited to the events [they] are allowed to hold at the high school.” The ever changing Covid restrictions surrounding the local schools and Sonoma County has made event planning very difficult. SVHS Earth Club’s last activity was a sustainable clothing swap.  Rosa says, “We hope that as things start opening up again, [we can] hold some more fundraisers and creek cleanups in the near future.” Rosa adds that luckily she has not noticed a significant decrease of participants in meetings compared to the sign-ups at Club Rush. 

Victoria Hernandez, sophomore and president of GenUp, mentions their club “received 43 sign ups– which is huge considering [they] are a brand new club that opened this year.” GenUp is a student activist coalition which advocates for education among the youth. Hernandez adds that currently the club is “adding three new diverse books in every class at Flowery and Prestwood by the end of the school year.” 

Overall, despite having to adapt to the many covid restrictions throughout the year, SVHS clubs are still able to thrive under these conditions.