Activism Clubs: moral change or amoral gain?

By Noor Memarzadeh, Staff Writer

In recent years, the different injustices taking place in our world have sparked the attention of many people, including high school students. This wave of activism has fostered the formation of many clubs devoted to different causes. However, in many cases the motivation for creating these clubs is not for the benefit of the world, but for the personal gain of the students involved. 

Many high schools, including Samo, are home to a variety of clubs created to raise awareness and bring change to different issues. There are clubs fighting for causes, ranging from women's rights, to homelessness, to racism and more. 

Though many of those creating and joining these clubs believe in the cause, the primary motive behind their involvement often revolves around their personal gain. In other words, many of these students create and join clubs in order to pad their college resumes and look like a more impressive and well-rounded candidate. 

Especially in this day and age, college applications have become extremely competitive. These clubs are easily created and add another activity to your resume to better display your involvement and leadership to schools.

Though the clubs create positive changes for their causes, they can negatively affect the students’ mindsets in the future. From a young age, if these students learn that it is okay to join and create clubs just because of how they will make them look, they will continue to do things not because of their genuine compassion in their future. As adults, they might not be able to break the habit of doing positive things for their personal gain and not for the interest of others. 

Though these morally questionable motives persist, clubs can still create change. Most of these clubs contribute to the cause they are dedicated to in some way. Fundraisers such as bake sales and food drives bring in resources and money for whatever is being fundraised. 

Moreover, these clubs also bring awareness to their causes. Club founders create discussions and agendas for meeting which follow the theme of the club. Speaking about these injustices and educating students about the issues happening in our world is a road to change. 

For many students, school clubs are their introduction to activism and its importance. From these clubs, students can apply their knowledge to help battle other causes on their own.

“Whether the club creates relies on the club leaders. Clubs created for selfish purposes can still make positive changes in communities if the right information is spread and if well-planned events are organized” Sophie Christmas (’23) said.

Even if these clubs were created with the incentive of being a more desirable candidate for a college, the things done in these clubs help create change. Regardless of the reason they were started, activism clubs are bringing awareness to their causes and bringing in resources to organizations directly helping them.