The bell has rung for second period, and as we settle into our seats, the announcements begin to blare across the classroom. After the pledge concludes, club announcements begin…and seemingly never end. The announcer drones on and on before finally moving onto a different topic after what feels like a lifetime.

Starting a club used to mean that the creator had found something — a topic or issue that they were passionate about — that was not addressed by any other activity at MN, and they were creating it to create a space where others interested in it could learn.

However, now, clubs have been transformed into something that can simply be  and have lost their meaning. It seems a new student-led club is created every day, each one becoming more of a stretch to attempt to justify its reason for even existing. This recent charge of the clubs is a multi-faceted problem plaguing our school, with multiple causes.

One major reason students have begun partaking in this trend is because of the misconception that starting a club will demonstrate the leadership and initiative that their dream college is searching for on their résumé. But the harsh reality is that when everyone starts a club, it doesn’t really mean anything.

Furthermore, many of these new student-led clubs are meant as nothing more than résumé-boosters. After they are approved as a club, the club members meet once, taking no action and making no progress.

As Signature College Counseling founder Elizabeth Levine describes, this contradiction of the entire point of forming a club in the first place is actually harmful to your college application. College admissions officers can detect a club started just for the résumé from a mile away, putting a red flag on your application.

Instead, Levine suggests that students turn to already-established clubs so that they are able to actually make an impact, instead of having to focus on just getting up and running as a club.

As she explains, colleges do not admit students using a checklist. They care about the quality and depth of your activities, not just how many clubs you’ve been able to start.

Additionally, many of the new student-led clubs simply serve as places for friends to get together after school, which defeats the purpose of a club.

Obviously, when someone starts a club, they are bound to ask their friends to help, but there should also be genuine interest for membership if the club is truly focusing on a topic that people are interested in, they will have members besides those they asked join.

Lastly, and perhaps the worst part of this issue, it feels like our school is being transformed into a sci-fi movie with how many clubs are simply clones of already-existing and more influential ones. While there is an endless amount of areas that can merit the formation of a club, many club founders at MN have decided to forego this and instead duplicate already-existing clubs.

A lack of regulation on this process leads to an unnecessarily high number of clubs that are all aimed towards the same goal. The ironic thing is that despite this, clubs fizzle out and despite the outrageous similarities between multiple clubs, no action is actually taken.

Now this is not meant to be a blanket profile of clubs. Many student-led clubs serve the purpose they were founded for and are making a difference in their respective intended areas. They are clubs as clubs are meant to be.

However, a large majority of them have become a part of this problem, going dormant only to be reawakened when an offhand comment is made about the lack of activity of their club.

It is clear that the sheer overwhelming amount of clubs at our school means that something has to be done. The process for starting a club should involve more than simply finding a sponsor; there must also be demonstrated interest in the club for its formation to be valid.

Additionally, we must also have a regulation on clubs’ statuses based on how much engagement they are continuously receiving. If they fail to merit enough interest, it begs the question of whether they are really necessary.

Overall, clubs have overtaken MN, causing their meaning to be utterly diminished, with students losing sight of what a club is actually supposed to be. It is high time we put an end to this club crusade.