On September 1, 2022, the school held the annual club and flex fair at the walkway in front of the gymnasium and Four Flowers Theater. There were two rows of neatly lined up tables covered with decorations and posters, and the sweet aromas of different cuisines drifted through the air. As students from all grade levels gathered and visited clubs of their interest, the student leaders handed out flyers and yelled catchy slogans to persuade students to sign up for their clubs. Everything seemed to have gone well, with students signing up for different clubs every minute, but if you took a closer look, some tables had dozens of interested students rush over and sign up every minute, while a few tables struggled to garner interest. 

As a student who helped run six tables that day and experienced how some of my clubs were more successful than others, some questions came to mind. Why were some clubs doing so well while others struggled to get students to sign up? Are there more popular clubs/flexes? Did having snacks and candy at the table bribe students to sign up? 

Here are the perspectives of some student leaders and what they think about the promotion of clubs, flexes, and affinity groups on campus:

Are Stein, 12th grader, Spectrum co-leader: “[The club/flex fair is] not a good way to go about advertising things because [there’s] so many people in such a small space. It’s a bit clustered, overwhelming, loud. I just get overwhelmed advertising my club behind a table, I can’t imagine walking through all the clubs. It’s frustrating because not enough people are seeing the table or wanting to sign up. There’s also a general lack of respect? I don’t know. This year I had someone fake sign up by putting down someone else’s name.”

Eshi Nair, 12th grader, Mock Trial and MUN co-leader: “I would definitely consider Mock Trial and MUN to be popular flexes at our school. I think the flex fair is extremely effective at getting new students to join flexes and clubs. Usually students would just read descriptions of clubs/flexes and join whichever sounds most interesting or fun. However, the flex fair allows club and flex leaders to show off aspects of their club/flex that would otherwise be hard to put into writing.”

Natalia Vazquez, 12th grader, Latin American Affinity Group and Global Issues Network co-leader: “I think the club/flex fair works for Freshmen, but if you’re not a Freshman you already have commitments so it doesn’t work. I think it’s hard because if your flex is the same time as the most popular flexes, then they (the students) are not going to go to yours. Also in assemblies, people don’t really listen to your announcements. If your friends are there then they would go.” 

Even a month after the fair, I’ve witnessed and been a part of multiple conversations of how some clubs/flexes fly under the radar. For example, during a Palette meeting, we talked about how not many people even know that Country Day has a student-run newspaper called The Palette. During a Green Team meeting, 9th grader Vicky Chen explained her frustration with the lack of members on Green Team this year: “It’s almost like we’re not known.” 

While it’s amazing that the more popular clubs/flexes such as MUN and Mock Trial are having success gaining new members through the fair, there could be further improvements to help the new, smaller clubs garner recognition and become as successful as the larger popular clubs/flexes. In the past few years, the annual fair has been split up into a two-week long process of having one day dedicated to clubs and the other to flexes. By splitting up the clubs and flexes, students could spend more time getting to know each group without having to rush through it all. Student leaders would also feel less overwhelmed. Additionally, the fair wouldn’t have to feel like a competition between clubs and flexes to see who gets the most attention. It could instead be focused on fostering a diverse and inclusive community where students who are genuinely interested in different groups have the opportunity to be a part of them.

Cover photo credit: La Jolla Country Day via @lajollacountryday on Instagram

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Cover photo credit: LJCDS via @lajollacountrydayschool on Instagram