At my school, politics and current events are something that “we don’t talk about.”
I live in an extremely rich community that feels that current events in the United States don’t apply to them. This led me to ponder and want to create a club at my school in which we can talk about events and become more worldly people (making sure that people don’t verbally attack others).
While thinking of ideas, I’ve had a tough time just thinking about how I can create this club, get people engaged and make sure that people are gaining something from it. I need to convince my principal that the club is worth it and it’s not just there.
Obviously I’d be the president of the club, but for officers who want to run, should I run elections or applications, etc. I’ve been wanting to start my own club for a while, but I just don’t know where to start. I need some people with experience of starting their own clubs or have created a similar club to pitch some ideas.
Maybe you could have round table discussions of current events or invite local politicians or leaders to come in and talk. Sounds like an interesting idea, so good luck!
Well, I think that this sounds like a great idea! How about something like CosmosCuriosity suggested, a roundtable discussion where everyone is free to discuss their thoughts on different topics in a civil fashion? After you’ve decided what kind of club you want to create, the next step is to find a teacher sponsor, unless your school doesn’t require one. I would suggest finding a teacher who you are close with and who would be willing to introduce controversial topics. I think a great idea would be to ask your school’s debate teacher (if you have one) if they would be willing to sponsor your club, since debate is a place where many controversial topics are debated. I know that my debate teacher loves to discuss current events in class with us!
As for officer positions, I would start off with a president (you), VP (to be a kind of moderator along with the president), secretary (to record what happens at each meeting, if you want to do that), and maybe a treasurer if you are going to be getting t-shirts or otherwise collecting money. I would definitely have elections for these positions, especially since it is a political science club
As for convincing your principal, I would just explain to them that you want people at your school to be more educated about current issues, and that this is very important for people to be informed about as they move forward in their lives, especially since you will be able to vote in a few years/soon.
Hope that helps! I myself have not started a political science club (I started a environmental club instead lol), but current issues are something that I enjoy discussing with friends and being informed about.
The debate club at my school has preassigned topics to argue at regional competitions, groups like Model United Nations, Youth and Government, Junior Civitan, etc.