Written by Grant Harris
Club week. The phrase brings to my mind the tinkling laughter of little children … Wait, no, that’s not it. The words “club week” come with thoughts of ridiculous pledge names, strange tasks, major and minor “dates,” incessant chanting of club songs and, of course, the clubs themselves. I have not participated in this tradition, nor do I intend to. When debating about whether I should join a club or not, I began listing the advantages and disadvantages in my head.Positives: lots of new people to meet, a group of people that I will have stuff to do with for the next two (or three, or four) years I’m at school.Negatives: the reputation that comes with being in a club, the time and money required by club activities and, of course, the brainwashing involved in club week. Now, don’t get upset because I called it brainwashing. That doesn’t imply anything sinister; it’s just a tactic used to increase solidarity and a feeling of brother- or sisterhood.The sleep deprivation, group chants, absurd tasks and uniforms all contribute to the effectiveness of the week.However, for me, it’s less about club week than it is about the reputation I would get for whatever club I joined. I feel bad when I do this, but I automatically assume things about people whenever I see them in their club jerseys. “Oh, that guy is in (blank). That must mean this and this about him.”Obviously, the club reputation does not mean that everyone in the club will live up – or down – to it, but it does make outsiders view the club members in a different light. To me, the whole concept of clubs is a way to continue the cliques that were created in high school. Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes. Again, not everyone in a club is alike, and some of the bigger ones are much more diverse. But when it comes to clubs that don’t overflow with members, it often appears that all the people in said club are the same person with different faces. Not that it’s a bad thing, of course, and people will naturally gravitate toward others with the same interests and hobbies, but there is a bigger distinction here. What has essentially happened with clubs is that the “Joe and Zach Cool Kids Club” from third grade has graduated to college. A hierarchy has been created, and the social status of any random student is often contingent on the club they belong to, at least at first glance.It reminds me of the caste system, almost. I certainly am not against clubs, nor am I saying that a reform is necessary. I don’t believe, however, that they are an integral part of the college experience.I’m not in a club, and it has not harmed me. I have plenty of friends, I have things to do, and I didn’t have to go through club week. Don’t walk away from these 500 or so words with the feeling that I hate clubs, because I don’t. I have many friends who are in clubs and love it, and they’re welcome to it. However, I do not believe that there is a need for them. I thought that one of the great things about college was that we would be away from the cliques of high school, and instead we’ve gone and recreated them on a bigger scale with a membership fee.
