By GRACE WU, junior

The temperature of the cafeteria skyrocketed almost as fast as club membership on October 7, as hundreds of students crowded around stands set up by various clubs in the room and outside. Scored by upbeat music courtesy of the DJ Club, students and advisors scrambled to make their tables presentable and attractive. All around the cafeteria, students could be seen collecting pamphlets, bent over tables scribbling down email addresses or fingers skipping over the keyboards of laptops. Booth operators stood on top of chairs, waving posters and yelling at the top of their lungs to attract attention. This was the annual Club Fair, the biggest event for club officers to recruit new members.

Only once a year would the tough members of the S.W.A.T. (Student Weight Room Advisory Team) display a collection of dumbbells and weights alongside the colorful posters of the Straight and Gay Alliance booth. Across from both clubs stood the Hindi Honor Society stand, which strives to promote appreciation of the Hindi language and culture. Some popular clubs, such as Model UN, were clearly experienced at advertising their organization, with representatives dressed to the nines in suits and ties. Meanwhile, new clubs like the Yoga Club, which hopes to help students relax and find peace in the midst of high school chaos, presented professionally as well. Senior Kasia Kumor remarked, ” I was surprised at how much I learned from the Club Fair. I’ve been at JP for three years and yet I still signed up for the ski club ­ something I never even knew existed until now.” Outside of the cafeteria, Students for Environmental Awareness (SEA) recruited new members by asking attendees to pose for photos with their faces in the holes of tree cutouts.

Many clubs sent out executive board members to hand out flyers, advertising the benefits and opportunities it had to offer. Physics teacher Mr. Mayes was seen standing on a table offering electrically charged “fistbumps” to curious students using an electrostatic generator, drawing an eager crowd. Sophomore Iris Tu thought “it was remarkable to see so many students so passionate about their clubs, making posters and brochures in the weeks before the fair to grab people’s attention.”

Mrs. Pittenger, the advisor for the Chemistry Club, described seeing friendships formed right in front of her stand. “That’s really the goal ­­ to be able to bring students together in the most unexpected ways,” she explained. From community service organizations such as Key Club and FCCLA to the Chess Club and Science Olympiad, there was a club for everyone.

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