Culture clubs are among the plethora of clubs here on campus. Culture clubs are clubs that talk about the importance of culture and inform interested students in all things surrounding the culture. Relevant topics can include food, religion, and environment. Culture clubs we have at AHS include Burmese, Thai, and Korean and many more. I sat down with a couple of officers of these clubs and asked them about the clubs so that I could get a more informed outlook on the environment.

Korean Culture Club (KCC), is one of the many, and it takes place in S105 every Wednesday. At the club meetings, members discuss popular topics like food and pop culture, for example, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and BTS (Korean pop band). The common misconception is that you need to be that specific nationality to be a part of the club, but that really isn’t the case. In fact, they are always seeking new members who are just genuinely interested in the culture itself. Vice president senior Bianca Hong, adds that “we, as officers, are very passionate about what we talk about, and so all we look for in our members are students with the same enthusiasm.” Besides what the clubs offer, I also asked what is the true importance of culture clubs such as KCC? Bianca spoke on behalf of her board members and explained that “culture clubs keep us tied to special interests that are not revolved around AHS or high school. It allows students to learn more about the topic of culture that regular academic classes don’t teach.”

Additionally, I feel that these clubs add diversity to the campus and also serve as a safe environment for those who are pressured by the bigger high school campus. I’ve dealt with this issue personally by also joining the Vietnamese Culture Club (VCC) during my freshman year. I was new to this school, and I was really intimidated by the new environment I was placed in. When I found out that VCC was a club on campus, I decided to join it because I wanted to stay connected to my Vietnamese roots, and I also just wanted a smaller environment that I can ease into. It really helped me because I was able to form important connections with the other members, and I also got to learn more about Vietnam.

For these reasons,  I strongly believe that culture clubs do not get the recognition they deserve, and they are very important in enriching the lives of high school students. Without these clubs, we not only lose the diversity here on campus but also the ability to learn about topics that are not regularly covered in academic courses.

Graphic courtesy of INTERNATIONALCULTURECLUB.COM