By Mandy Hui ‘23
St. Mark’s students are academically driven, tackling rigorous classes, and trying their best to excel in all of their courses. However, students’ social lives should be considered just as important as their academic lives. A lot of the students are still trying to discover their identities and explore different activities they may take an interest in. Fortunately, St. Mark’s has a variety of clubs and affinity groups, bringing together people with shared interests or of the same cultural, religious, ethnic, sexual, and gender identity.
Due to the Coronavirus, not all students can physically be on campus, but modern-day technology helps overcome this challenge. Remote students feel more isolated because they cannot socialize with their friends at school. Thus, clubs and affinity groups meetings are great opportunities for remote students and in-person learners to reconnect over similar hobbies and cultures.
Every week, there is an array of meetings students and faculty members can participate. There are over thirty clubs that are all student led, and each club is required to organize a meeting weekly, and affinity groups are expected to connect twice a month. The types of clubs range from debate club and book club, to dance club and mountain skiing club; the variation of clubs ensures that each student in the school will have at least one club that piques their interests.
In contrast, St. Mark’s affinity groups are clubs that categorize people by their racial, sexual, and gender identity, building a safe space for students to share their feelings and struggles with peers who may be going through a similar experience because of their identity. Examples of such affinity groups include: Black Lives Union (BLU), Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Southborough Society, and many more. There are times when two different affinity groups will have merged meetings, discussing problems that overlap and concern both groups.
Every student is going through a lot currently because of the global pandemic. Hopefully, club meetings and affinity groups will help ease students’ stress and tensions, making it easier for students to navigate their way through this academic year. With students supporting each other, it will help strengthen the community as a whole.