by Cooper Hill, staff writer
In a significant move impacting the student body, PPSC has decided to temporarily halt the creation of new clubs in the 2024 spring semester. This decision,
spear-headed by the Inter-Club Council Board, stems from the ongoing vacancy in the Director of Student Life position, who previously managed and oversaw new clubs at PPSC.
Traditionally, establishing a new club at PPSC involved getting approval from the Student Government Association (SGA) and connecting with the Director to ensure the club follows school code of conduct. Additionally, past club leaders were required to meet with the Inter-Club Council every other month to discuss goals and communicate information. Now, according to SGA Vice President Anaid Rodriguez, some changes have been made to make the process more efficient: “some of the changes involve the lack of approval through SGA, to make the process quicker, and the removal of monthly meetings,” she says.
With the absence of a current Director, the founding of clubs has become more difficult for both Student Government and the student body. Essential functions such as communication, planning, and resource allocation are now hampered, leading to delays and inefficiencies in the club creation process. This hiatus underscores the essential role administrative leadership plays in creating a positive extracurricular landscape at PPSC.
“Given that we didn’t currently have an accessible outlet, the process for creating and responding to clubs with all the different needs was not being met as efficiently and as knowledgeably as before,” says Rodriguez. “[The Director’s] absence has hindered our ability to effectively address the needs of existing clubs and support the creation of new ones.”
During the fall semester of 2023, the Inter-Club Council proceeded with the management of clubs without the help of a Director, but since they are all students themselves, it became too difficult to continue into the spring semester by themselves. Acknowledging the challenges facing Student Government, leadership at PPSC decided to pause club creation temporarily for the spring 2024 semester. Despite efforts from Student Government to maintain operations, the lack of a designated leader has created too big a gap in communication and resource availability.
The Director was able to access many different areas of the school, such as access to room reservations, and get direct line of contact between different
departments at PPSC.
To reassure the student body, club creation has not been dismissed, but rather temporarily halted for the foreseeable future. Rodriguez says, “this temporary pause has only been planned for this semester but may be lengthened as necessary.” While plans to update the club creation process are underway, any significant changes will be contingent on the appointment of a new Student Life Director. Existing clubs and organizations will continue to operate as usual, open for any student to participate.
