Club meetings can be a great way for students to bond over similar interests, but sometimes, a more interactive approach to learning is more beneficial. Throughout the spring months, three affinity groups are leaving the walls of HPHS to teach students more about the history of the cultures represented in their club.
The African American Cultural Club (AACC) invited the Jewish Student Union (JSU) to join them on a trip to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. this May. Evelyn Springer, an active member of the JSU, speaks on what this trip offers students. “In Judaism, there's a big emphasis on unity…Everyone should be able to know and try to understand, especially something so horrible. We want to make sure we don’t let it happen again to us or other groups.” Ms. Zimmer further emphasizes, “History sometimes doesn’t tell us all the information, and this is something that the students must understand and remember.”
The Asian Culture Club (ACC) also explored its members’ culture with a visit to the U.S. capital. In March, they went to Washington D.C.’s Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival and the National Museum of Asian Art. “We’re a smaller club, we don’t have the big funds, so the fact that we were able to accomplish this trip shows the effort we’ve been putting in,” mentions Siya Verma, the program director of the ACC. “Sitting in a classroom and talking about cultures isn’t always the best way of experiencing it, so that’s why these trips help with actively engaging with what we’ve talked about.”