New club registration process serves beneficial to all

By Kayla Kinsey

Opinion Editor

This school year, a necessary update was made to Mira Costa’s club registration process. With an estimated 180 clubs created or reinstated last year, many were inactive. Activities Director Lisa Claypoole and Vice Principal Kimberly Price created four new required documents to ensure club legitimacy and effectiveness, bringing the total club count to about 140.  

Last year, the protocol to create a club consisted of a form submitted by the eleventh week of the first quarter and a club roster submitted by Dec. 1. While the forms were on paper last year, they are now online, making it easier for Price and Claypoole to manage club registration. Clubs are now required to make a constitution, ensuring that each club has clear by-laws communicated to the administration and potential members. The document incorporates the club’s purpose, membership and eligibility qualifications, officers, meetings, plans for activities, and amendments if laws necessitate change. 

Ineffective clubs began to present an issue, as they would be created for the intention to bolster a college application without actually performing the duties intended. The newly structured update to the registration process is beneficial to the student body, because all clubs have communicated their requirements and activities, ensuring their overall effectiveness. 

Additionally, the required organization may help students practice leadership skills. Practicing structure and having first-hand experience in management is a good investment in one’s future. According to the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, small habits repeated regularly can help students build their character strength, such as patience and service to others. Practicing positive habits as a teenager may influence habits for the future, making organization in all aspects of life all the more vital. 

Clubs must hold meetings at least once a month, have at least 10 active members, submit forms in a timely manner, and have an advisor present. The new process includes punctual deadlines to submit forms. The timeliness of these deadlines indicate beneficial organization to ensure that the management of these clubs stays active and the legitimacy of each club is visible.

According to Claypoole, about 60 school clubs would be ideal. However, with the new registration process, clubs are legitimate and active on campus. 

Some may argue that the decrease in clubs is undesirable and harmful to the diversity of campus organizations. However, the quality of these clubs is more important than the quantity, and each club should be effective in executing its plans and activities. The new registration process for clubs is beneficial to the student body, as organization is required and legitimacy is warranted.