Oct 13, 2008 6:42 am US/Central
Quirky School Clubs Becoming Popular In Duluth
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) ―
What do gardening, hip hop and Dungeons and Dragons have in common?
They're all student passions pushing a growing club culture in local high schools.
Over the past several years, high school mainstays like pep club, debate team and National Honor Society have had to make room for quirkier clubs.
"A lot of it seems to be rooted in the fact that schools are more tuned in to student interests today, and letting those drive the club scene instead of tradition," said Chris Bacigalupo, a teacher at Harbor City International. "Instead of staff members telling kids what they can be involved in, student passion is driving those opportunities."
Passionate students at Harbor City have started a medley of clubs over the years, from an Anime Club to a Guitar Hero Club to a Technology Club.
Luke Helgeson is a member of the school's Dungeons and Dragons Club, which meets about once a week for the role-playing adventure game.
"It's fun to create a character and do things you couldn't do in real life, like cast a spell or run around in the woods with a bow and arrow," Helgeson said.
Sean Granmo, the club president, said Dungeons and Dragon fans probably couldn't have found a home in schools until recently, even though the game has been around for decades.
"Someone would probably get called a nerd and beaten up for admitting they liked Dungeons and Dragons before, but I think people are more open now," Granmo said. "Now it's like: 'I'm into Dungeons and Dragons,' and someone else says: 'Cool, I am, too. Let's start a club."'
The curious club trend does not stop at the doors of Harbor City International. Similarly unusual groups are popping up in high schools across Duluth. Philosophy and ping pong clubs are in full swing at Central High School and Denfeld High School is considering adding clubs for traveling, gardening and random acts of kindness.
Laurie Knapp, principal at East High School, said she sees the trend at her school, too.
"You used to have your list of standard clubs, like executive board, and if you didn't fit that mold or have that interest, you were out of luck," Knapp said. "Now, kids are taking the initiative to create clubs that reflect who they are."
Dorian Cross, a freshman at East who started a hip hop club this year, said the club culture is a reflection of students' desire to shine.
"Nobody wants to be that kid that's left out," Cross said. "People want to be known; joining a group lets that happen."
Knapp said it is heartening to watch the hip hop club evolve. Two seniors develop the choreography for the team, which will perform at sporting events.
"Without this club, these kids would be dancing at Washington Center, and nobody would ever have the opportunity to see what they can do," she said. "It's great to watch so many of our students take on these leadership roles."
Regardless of the club's focus, members seem to take it seriously. East's grill team, for example -- which lives by its club motto, "Grillin' and Chillin"' -- holds tryouts to determine the final grilling squad.
"We judge grilling skill along with personality, innovativeness," said senior Max Gilbertson, the club's pseudo-president.
Grill-team wannabes have to be prepared to go through an intense round of rapid-fire questioning.
"Stuff like: Sing a song about grilling to your favorite tune, (or) if you go to a big grilling event and all the hot dogs fly out of the back of the car, what do you do," said senior Brett Sobczak, another founding member of the grill team.
"Most of them said they would sacrifice their own money and take one for the team, which we like," Gilbertson said. "A sense of commitment is very important."
With new ideas cropping up all the time, it's hard to know what the lifespan will be for many of these quirky clubs, but founders are hopeful theirs will stand the test of time, at least for a few years, anyway.
"We plan to hand off the ball to the next generation after this year -- or the spatula, if you will," Sobczak said.
By SARAH HORNER
Duluth News Tribune
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
