Clayton High School prides itself on the freedom given to students. One freedom, specifically, which is relayed to all incoming freshman, is that students have the ability to create any club they wish. However, even though a large number of clubs are created, only a few are sustained and even fewer meet on a weekly basis.
This year, two sophomores, Jonathan Shumway and Zach Praiss, teamed together to create a new club, Politics Club. The club has met nearly every Wednesday morning since the year began, even holding a few sessions on late start days.
“I know in the past there has been a Young Democrats Club,” Shumway said. “However, we want to be open to everyone regardless of political beliefs. We also try to meet consistently.”
Praiss agreed that the original mission of the club was to appeal to everyone so they could create a setting where all students felt comfortable.
“At the beginning, we didn’t know where the club was going to go,” Praiss said. “We started off making a name for ourselves by having donuts every meeting and playing a lot of board games, but then it just took off. Donuts are nevertheless fantastic and a great motivator.”
Along with donuts, another important piece of the club is sponsor and much-loved history teacher Kurtis Werner.
“Mr. Werner is a great teacher, and just as important, a Politics Club icon,” Praiss said. “He gave us a face to put on our first posters, and now he writes those creative announcements.”
Werner gave the credit to the students.
“As of now, I have really just been a sponsor with a laissez-faire attitude for the club,” Werner said. “Nearly all of the credit should be given to Praiss and Shumway for their interest in creating a club where students can relax and talk openly about hot topics in politics.”
Shumway and Praiss plan each meeting to ensure there is material to discuss so members won’t be wasting precious sleep.
“We choose different subjects based on current news,” Shumway said. “In the past few weeks we have talked about nuclear policy with the recent nuclear summit and energy with earth day.”
Using Facebook, posters, and the school announcements as tools for publicity, Politics Club has gained a group of about 10 people who come regularly to the meetings. Shumway and Praiss have both been satisfied with the turnout, though Praiss mentioned that currently the club “really only targets sophomores.”
“I know it gets harder and harder to wake up early as the year goes on, and we still have people coming,” Shumway said.
Sophomore Maria Massad has attended most of the club meetings.
“Politics Club has expanded my horizons on the political world,” Massad said. “The club has helped me make educated decisions on things going on in Washington and has strengthened my own political beliefs.”
The club has seen a huge transition from playing board games to drawing in big-name speakers to help members learn more about politics. Bill Hennessy, founder of the St. Louis Tea Party, which campaigns specifically for fewer taxes, spoke at the April 28 club meeting.
“He was the first speaker who considered himself a conservative, so he brought different ideas to CHS,” Shumway said. “Even though many students were informed about the activities of the Tea-Party through the news, it was a unique experience to talk to a Party member face-to-face without media intervention.”
Massad, who knew little about the Tea Party prior to the meeting, agreed that hearing Hennessy speak was a new experience.
“I thought he was a very good speaker to bring in,” Massad said. “He was the first speaker to talk about something different, as he spoke about his ideology, not his job. He did however avoid answering controversial questions that could show a weakness in the Tea Party’s logic.”
Hennessy was a success and he offered to return to Politics Club to speak again.
In building off a speaker like Hennessy, Politics Club closed out 2010 with a bang. In addition, Politics Club is planning a movie night for a Friday night before the year comes to a close.
Shumway offered up what he took from leading Politics Club this year.
“Individually, I learned a lot about being a leader,” Shumway said. “I have found it very interesting to learn about other people’s views and backgrounds with our open discussions. For those who plan to start a club, try to make it so the club applies to as many people as possible.”
Praiss talked about one of the highlights of this year, bringing in six speakers.
“Because we can’t bring in Obama yet, we talk a lot about local news and are able to get local speakers to come and share with us,” Praiss said. “Next year, my personal goal is to look into getting bigger speakers to come to Politics Club.”
Shumway also spoke of next year’s goals, while Praiss offered a more long-term view.
“We want to become more involved in the community,” Shumway said. “Another goal is to get more members to come on a consistent basis, and to appeal to incoming freshman. However, the main goal is still to inform people about politics in our country and the world so that we can be better prepared for the future.”
“Many clubs probably that were here this year probably won’t be here next year,” Praiss said. “We don’t want to see Politics Club die out. I want to be able to come back to CHS and see Politics Club still running.”