The United States was founded upon the basic principles of liberty and the power of the people to implement change. Under equality, these powers are intended to extend to every individual. On a large scale, American citizens will petition Washington, D.C. or politicians will propose new laws. On a much smaller scale, under the jurisdiction of the Schreiber High School administration, students are able to work with clubs to positively change the community and school.
Students can effectively promote change through various means and various clubs.
The Schreiber Key Club, for instance, conducts volunteer service intended to shape the community and school into a better, more charitable place.
“I feel clubs often create legacies in the school that wouldn’t be there otherwise,” said Key Club President Jackson Shain. “Key club’s school-wide events, such as the Holiday Toy Drive, really bring the entire school community together and also create change in the Nassau County and Long Island communities as a whole.”
Many clubs host drives to allow students the opportunity to donate to those less fortunate. These drives go beyond aiding people in the short-term, as they also work to prompt students to adopt a charitable lifestyle that will stick with them throughout their lives.
“Once students are introduced to the good feeling that charity inspires, they will donate more,” said senior Ben Pan. “If a good sum of students leaves Schreiber with the inspiration to give to charity, the effect will multiply, following them wherever they should end up. That’s economics! I call it the good heart multiplier.”
From a smaller perspective, many club activities can shape the school into a place more accommodating to the student body.
Students can work with administration to better the quality of the school’s infrastructure.
“The work clubs do on improving the school, such as the recent addition of the hydration station, really go a long way in making the school a better place for its students and faculty,” said Shain.
The addition of the hydration station is a perfect example of the power of students to initiate change.
The Tree Huggers Club organized the implementation of the station that not only encourages reusable bottle usage to save the environment but also provides the student body with a convenient method to stay hydrated. A simple idea in the mind of an environmentally concerned student sprouted positive change on both a micro and macro scale.
There are other clubs that do event- based community service. The Relay for Life Club conducts fundraising throughout the year that all leads up to the Relay for Life in June, a single event raising awareness and money for Cancer Research and the American Cancer Society. However, the Relay for Life Club does not stop there.
“Every year, the Relay for Life Club goes to the city to volunteer at Hope Lodge, a sanctuary that offers cancer patients and their caregivers a place to stay,” said senior and Relay for Life coach Ryan O’Reilly. “There, we are able to directly help people by playing games, serving food, and just talking to them in hope that we are able to make the fight those people are facing a little easier.”
The power to effect change within the school and community lies within the hands of the students.
Club activities promote more wholesome lifestyles and aid those less fortunate, whether through donations to the poor or the raising of disease awareness. With the will to implement change comes to the power to implement change.