By Miro ’28
At Harvard-Westlake, there is a wide variety of different clubs and affinity groups open to all. I think joining clubs is an important part of being part of the community of any school, it helps diversify your friendships, it teaches you about different topics, and much more. This blog will dive into my experience with clubs at HW while explaining the prominent ones.
We have many different affinity groups here at HW, which gives many students a sense of belonging while also welcoming people who don’t affiliate with that group, promoting learning about different cultures. Some of these affinity groups are the BLACC (Black Leadership and Culture Club), JCAAC (Jewish Culture and Antisemitism Awareness Club), GSA (Gender Sexuality Awareness Club), AACC (Asian American Culture Club), LAHSO (Latin American Hispanic Student Organization), SASA (South Asian Student Alliance), MENASA (Middle Eastern and North African Student Organization), Alzheimer’s Caring Club, and much, much more.
All of these clubs provide a space safe for people who resonate with them, such as the BLACC being a place to discover black culture. The JCAAC provides a space for Jews and others to celebrate Jewish culture and history, and learn about current events. The GSA is welcome to all and is open to discussion about LGBTQ+ current events, and works on how to improve our community. The many other clubs are similar and make everyone feel welcome at Harvard-Westlake. As someone who is Jewish and whose parents were born in both Iraq and Iran, the JCAAC and MENASA resonate best with me, but I also try to go to other club meetings to learn more about them and try the delicious snacks they have!
Apart from Affinity groups, Harvard-Westlake has an enormous amount of clubs based around interests. There are the Computer, Conspiracy, Badminton, Book, Flight, Karaoke, and Video Game Clubs, not to mention the many other clubs. If you want to start your own club it’s extremely easy! I interviewed the leaders from the book club and they told me about the book club and how they debate about different topics in books, have snacks, and hang out.
For example, I love to play Minecraft so the Video Game club really interests me, and so does the Computer club as someone who enjoys coding. Even though I don’t own a drone, I am still interested in the Flight Club where people talk about their drones and share photos they’ve taken.
When I was in seventh grade, I didn’t go to many clubs because I didn’t think they would be fit for me, but that’s something I really regret this year. This year, I go to so many clubs that it seems like there aren’t enough days in the week to fit all of them! The clubs meet during a 25-minute period in the morning, and most meet weekly.
I hope this blog helped you understand the different affinity groups and clubs at Harvard-Westlake!
