Friends Select Upper School administrators shockingly limited students this fall by only allowing them to sign up for four clubs. This new rule is instated as they aim to improve the mental health of students and increase club productivity. In the past, Friends Select students were encouraged to sign up for multiple lunch clubs on top of their mandatory Friday club block. Now, out of the 52 clubs, or club-like organizations, students must only choose four. 

There are many pros and cons to this new regulation. The major issue is many students are already committed to more than 3 lunch clubs. Many of these clubs are affinity groups or organizations like Clerks. This raises the question of how a student would make the decision between academic clubs or hobbies versus ones around social justice. 

However, there has been a lot of thought preceding this decision. “There was a sense last year that students were overcommitting themselves, getting stressed out, and in the end, not contributing as well as they could to their clubs because they were spread too thin,” Chris Singler, Head of Upper School, said. “This year, I decided to put a limit in, more as a suggestion than a hard and fast rule…Life is about making choices, and sometimes it is good to be forced to make a decision and concentrate your efforts in a few places, rather than too many.”

Lucia Yeager-Johnson ‘23 adds that being in many clubs doesn’t mean you can’t be a productive member in all of them. “If you are in 6 clubs, only one or two of them may be taking up a large portion of your time because it is split between several leaders and members,” she explains.

Noah Bonner-Monastra ‘23 explains further, “Clubs are also a great way for people to explore their interests when entering high school and find people with similar interests. The more clubs, the more friends you are able to make.” 

While this decision has received mixed reactions, it continues to stand. Only time will tell if this policy will lower students’ stress levels, or alternatively limit students’ social scenes.