By Darshini Dayanidhi
Unity in Diversity
Unity in Diversity is a club committed to presenting shows of cultural acts involving the student body. The objective of the club is to showcase the wide range of diversity in the East community at large. Students have the opportunity to enroll and direct different dance and music ensembles from diverse cultures leading up to the concert.
The structure of the club involves a bi-monthly meeting frequenting Thursdays in the beginning. However, because each of the cultural performances is student-driven, it is up to the individual acts’ leaders to independently establish their scheduled meetings once things pick up. There are three established “checkpoints” where groups need to have particular sections of their act set up and prepared to ensure continued participation; therefore, meetings and practices are planned in account of that.
The Unity in Diversity show will take place this year on February 14, with the past performances being easily accessible on YouTube.
The club invites new members in September and October every year. Individuals who are considering joining Unity in Diversity next year should keep in mind that commitment to the club plays a huge role. Being prepared to show up for practices is very important.
Pen Fang, president of Unity in Diversity, comments, “Seeing my culture be celebrated on stage and people being eager and excited to learn or see the dance is really, really comforting, and I encourage you to participate if it might be your thing!”. They go further on to say that being a dancer is not a requirement for the club, but they do want everyone to try their best and have as much fun as possible.
Additionally, Unity in Diversity plans to do a fundraiser in February for Valentine’s Day. Students will be able to donate a dollar so they can put a heart with their name on it on a map to showcase where their loved ones are from, while also receiving some Valentine’s Day candy. The map is expected to be a celebration of the holiday and the school’s diversity that goes along with Unity’s show.
East Side News
The East Side News (ESN) is a club dedicated to writing the school newspaper. Members of the club have the opportunity to write articles about issues around the world and submit them to the editors, who will in return put all the articles together to publish.
The club’s meetings are typically every Wednesday after school in room 116 where sessions run from about 2:50 to 3:30 depending on the agenda. ESN tends to start with a “pitch meeting” where members come together and brainstorm on what articles to write for the upcoming issue. In other instances, the club structures a meeting based on tips and tricks to teach the members how to write certain types of articles, like a profile or a piece of hard news. Mr. Huber, the advisor of the club, or one of the editors also often brings in bagels for participants to enjoy.
Club participants learn valuable skills like learning how to research, but they also get an opportunity to stay up to date on what’s going on in the world as they browse various news outlets to find issues to write about that interest them. Requirements for being a part of the club are minimal. The editors only ask that members try to write as much as they can and attend the meetings.
“If you’re interested, then definitely give it a shot,” states Angelina Tang, Editor in Chief of the ESN. “Come and see how the club is organized and try writing an article. You don’t have to be an amazing writer or have any prior experience in journalism.” She then explains that students are invited to join the club any time of the year and will always be welcome.
East Side also hosts Coffeehouse three times a year where they have an open mic night while also offering inexpensive food. Anyone from any grade and school is invited to come and have the ability to sign up on the spot to perform songs.
