Every year as seniors leave, leadership positions in clubs are left desolate. Clubs are such an important part of high school culture. WJ has a total of 133 clubs and each of them needs a set of leadership to organize the club. Taking on a leadership position can be full of responsibilities and, especially for larger clubs, it can be hard to find underclassmen willing to take on so much.
Model UN is a club that simulates the UN General Assembly and in true form, they run democratic votes for leadership positions. In larger clubs, this form of leadership position is common. This results in leadership positions changing every year instead of just being passed down when seniors graduate. Despite how good it may look on someone’s resume, it often can be difficult to find someone to take on the responsibility of large clubs.
“While it can sometimes be difficult to elect a new leader, we rely on the voting process to make it fair for the members who count on us to represent them,” junior Leora Leavey said.
Other clubs like Best Buddies are even stricter in passing on leadership. Best Buddies is a large club at our school that is dedicated to helping facilitate friendships and inclusivity for people who have disabilities. Due to Best Buddies being an international organization, those who want to gain a leadership position have to submit a form on the club’s website.
“The chapter president, vice president and Sponsor meet to decide who will get the position for the following year,” senior Sydney Morgenstern said.
Clubs typically discuss the change of leadership towards the end of the school year.
Despite the rigorous process, this club has been around for more than 10 years at our school.
Smaller clubs tend to not have such a process. Leadership will typically pick the most active and willing members of the club to take on the responsibility of running the club when seniors leave.
Newer clubs need to start looking at who they will pass on the club to. As freshmen or sophomores, students don’t really think about the importance of extracurricular activities as much as upperclassmen. As a result, many new clubs have been started by seniors or juniors and will need someone to take on the mantle.
Clubs like creative writing have leadership dominated by seniors.
“Since we started the club ourselves, we haven’t yet passed on leadership but that’s a conversation we’ll be having soon,” senior Yael Rotman said.
