No student will deny the typical toils of the average day at school; homework, essays, and lectures make some days drag on for perceived millennia. However, club days at Urbana are some of the most interesting: each person gets to express their true passions for things not typically built into the school curriculum. Not only this, but club day reveals a promising prospect for the future state of the global environment; Urbana’s student body is highly attuned to making a meaningful contribution to society.

Pupils of all backgrounds attest to this notion, with several of them offering unique and insightful looks into what clubs mean to them. For those with specific, honed talents, they frequently offer a vector for the expression of one’s unique skills.“It brings together people who have a common interest and gives them a good opportunity to display their knowledge,” 11th grade Academic Team member William Yang commented on the subject.

Others have similar comments about their clubs, with the president of Red Cross commenting that the club “[made] people more aware of what’s going on around the world” and that the club sends a resounding message that “you’re not just impacting the community.”

It would definitely seem, by virtue of these testimonies, that club day at Urbana has a remarkable impact on morale. In fact, a member of UHS Necktie Club even commented that “Necktie Club is raising young males to be leaders in the community of Urbana and the world,” implying that many students feel not only a deeper connection to their peers and colleagues, but also an impact on the global landscape. The sponsors of the club realize the positive outwards impact as well, as the staff sponsor of the Women’s Empowerment Society informed me.

“I think it brings a lot to Urbana. Our goal is gender equality and presenting issues in society,” she thoughtfully stated. “A lot of these students are coming from [other] countries…they bring a different perspective which is…valuable.” She offered a quick listing of all the locations she believes the club reaches out to, mentioning the nearby Heartly House (an organization to aid victims of domestic abuse), the marches conducted in Washington D.C., and especially educational systems in other countries.

“Does this apply particularly to countries in the Middle East and Africa?” I inquired, wishing to dig deeper into the club’s intents.

“Oh, absolutely,” the club head informed me, “ [and] we should discuss gender equality more. It’s not just for girls. We would love to have males come as well… to join the discussion.” The discussion, that is, is one of global exchange of ideas, as well as conflict resolution, on the wide range of perplexing social conflicts visible in the modern world.

It is these types of messages which have elevated value in today’s polarized, politicized, and distrustful society. The fact that countless Urbana students should join together to combat such unfathomably far evils as gender inequality and academic inequality is inspiring in its own right. Such noble behavior is, without a shadow of a doubt, a perfect representation of the soul of the Urbana Hawks as a community.