The school has implemented a new club meeting schedule in which all clubs are allotted one week a month to hold a meeting during Spartan Hour, and it is limiting student involvement. With this schedule, not only is it harder for student clubs to operate efficiently, but it also prevents students from being more active in the school.

While structure is an essential component of the school routine, this schedule crunches 17 activity meetings into three Spartan Hours within one week. Obviously, this causes conflicts for students involved in multiple clubs. I, myself, am Historian of Tri-M, a member of the National Honor Society (NHS), a part of the Senior Class Committee, a compadre of the Spanish Club, and editor in chief – online for The Spartan Speaks. Not to mention my position as a tutor at the Orono Writing Center during Spartan Hour, which also conflicts.

Normally this wouldn’t be an issue – I can manage my time around the schedules just fine – but fitting five club meetings into three allotted time slots does not bode well for me.

Orono High School is a community within itself, and students want to be involved in that community. The wide variety of clubs and activities are a great way to become involved, and Orono is lucky to have so many opportunities. But if limited to only three, opportunities decrease, as well as the sense of commitment and community.

Also, extracurricular activities are essential for applications to highly-selective schools, and without them, the application looks far less impressive in comparison. If a student is limited to three clubs or fewer, it limits his or her involvement, and it limits the application and may bar that student from their dream school.

This also makes meetings less efficient. A monthly newspaper meeting does not correspond with the publishing dates and makes it harder for writers to propose stories and meet deadlines. The Spanish Club and other cultural clubs often celebrate holidays or other celebrations but then must postpone them to the time where they may no longer be relevant.
Some clubs need to meet multiple times in a month.

With this example in mind, there is the issue of having an entire week of Spartan Hours taken away from the involved student. Students often require time to meet with teachers for homework help or project work, but for that entire week the student may be committed during all of the Spartan Hours, or the teacher may have meetings during them. In some cases it is acceptable to skip a meeting, but in cases like NHS and Senior Class Committee, attendance is essential.

This schedule is unrealistic. Already, some clubs, like Tri-M, deviate from the schedule, opting to meet before school instead. While Spartan Hour is definitely the most convenient time for meetings, squeezing every single meeting into one week is detrimental to the clubs and the students.

Maddie Mayhew is the Editor in Chief – Online for The Spartan Speaks.