Earlier this year, during the first few weeks of school, an attempt was made to create the first European club by Jamin I. Chalberg and a group of other students, but this request was denied by the school. The club was a response to the creation of multiple clubs that are based at CMHS which bore the name of ethnicities such as Asian Club or Black Student Union. It was, however, shot down, probably due to the possibility of offending people who would not take kindly to its creation. 

“We just thought that since there was Asian Club, Latino Culture Club, Pacific Islander and there were only two clubs that weren’t made: Black Student Union (which was created a few months ago), and the European Club which is what we wanted to start. We just wanted to create a club where we were the same. We didn’t get the approval we wanted to so we kind of just went our ways,” Jamin said.

Was it right for them to have their request denied? Was it right for a club which would be the exact same as those on the school to be denied to exist? In my opinion they should have been allowed to exist, if not then why was permission granted to all the other clubs which are named after a certain demographic. Why should they be denied the chance that others were given?  I thought to myself what the leaders of the other clubs would think, so I asked them. 

Tashibah A. Hyppolite, leader of BSU, had this to say: “ I think that everyone has the right to have a club and of course a few are going to get shot down but it shouldn’t be just because it has the name white in it because ours had the name black and it didn’t get shot down just like Asian and Latino Culture Club. Just because it has the word “white” doesn’t mean it’s racial because racism is obviously far worse. In the end it’s just a club. I totally agree with it.” 

Latino culture club’s president, Nancy said, “I think that if they want to start a club, they should be allowed.” 

Asian club’s leaders said that they don’t really care.* 

The last time I checked, didn’t we live in a country which allows for expression such as a European Club? Wasn’t the United States of America founded upon the belief that all human beings have the right to be equal in all aspects of life? 

According to Jamin, there was nothing insensitive about the club or what is was going to do, it wasn’t even named “White Club”; it was “European Club”. The club was nothing more than what it would have been: a club. Whether or not it was denied due to the chance of offending people, the fact still stands that it has given reason to be offensive to those whom the group would have represented. 


* Asian club has just informed us they where misquoted, they believe the students should be allowed a European club.