Club campaigners
Several clubs work towards activist causes on campus and beyond
T
he Jewish Student Union is the Palo Alto High School branch of the NCSY, which is an international organization that works to “connect, inspire and empower Jewish teens,” according President Arielle Blumenfeld hands out costumes to club members for the Jewish holiday to its website. The Purim. Photo: Annelise Balentine club was revived this year by junior Arielle Blumenfeld after the former presidents stepped down. “When I found out that the presidents didn’t want to run the club anymore, it, at least for me, was a bit heartbreaking,” Blumenfeld said. “Especially because I really love being Jewish, and I feel like Judaism is a very important part of who I am, and I’m sure that I wasn’t alone in that.” The club’s goal, according to Blumenfeld, is to maintain a Jewish community at Paly and fight the growing antisemitism in the world. “A really big part of it is making sure that we’re standing up against antisemitism by realizing that we have that community,” Blumenfeld said. The club provides bagels and activities every week, and is working on planning bigger projects for the semester. “It’s just that being Jewish anywhere is a very scary thing sometimes and to make sure that we have that support,” Blumenfeld said. “A stable community — it’s the most important thing.”
18 April 2022
B
ring Change to Mind works to spread awareness about mental health, according to vice president Rachel Ellisen. “The mission, basically the mission statement I Paly Bring Change to Mind club attends the na- would say, is just intional Bring Change to Mind summitt at Oracle creasing conversaPark. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Ellisen) tion around mental health, mental illnesses, and just ending the stigma surrounding mental health, and just opening conversation, letting everyone know that they’re not alone,” Ellisen said. Paly’s Bring Change to Mind club was started by current president Eva Salvetierra’s sister seven years ago, and was the first high school branch of the larger Bring Change to Mind organization, which was started by actress Glenn Close. In the past, the club has held events surrounding mental health such as having stands with various activities and hosting Close as a guest speaker. Most recently, the club hosted Bring Change to Mind week, in which they held a different event every day. “For the rest of this year, we want to involve as many students as possible, students not in the club,” Ellisen said. “We want to involve [them] this week because we’ll have like an event every day and we just want to get the word out about the club, we want more members to join to increase conversation.”
