the chrOnicle
B4 Features
Oct. 10, 2012
4 new ways to take a break
A record number of clubs have submitted charters this year. Catching up on television series, planning nature walks, doing good works or just being happy are possible respites from homework during activities periods.
Hike, grill, enjoy nature 1
By enya Huang The Country Gentlefolk Club, reestablished this year, will bring nature walks to Harvard-Westlake. For those who love the outdoors or just want to relax, the Country Gentlefolk Club is planning a hike in Will Rogers
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‘Crank’ up the volume PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAZELLE ETESSAMI
By Lauren SiegeL Examining and analyzing the popular drama, the Breaking Down “Breaking Bad” club is among the new clubs on campus this year. Oliver Goodman-Waters ’14 founded the club with Alexander Thal ’14 and Jack presidents and English Teacher Isaac Laskin as their fac-
ulty sponsor. The club is based on the television show “Breaking Bad” about a high school chemistry teacher who turns to producing crystal meth in order to provide for his family after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Goodman-Waters and the rest of the club welcome both viewers alike.
Twenty Five
meeting. The club will generally meet on Mondays during break, but the leaders plan on inviting members to occasionally meet on weekends to watch marathons of certain episodes at school. season will not air until summer 2013, the club will watch all previous seasons of the
show on DVD and complete the series thus far. Members will be assigned to watch an episode weekly, which they will then discuss and analyze when they convene at school on Mondays. Goodman-Waters, Thal, watching the show last spring. “I’m completely obsessed with it,” Thal said. “How could I not be [part of the club]?”
club adviser and math teacher Catherine Campbell said. With the slogan “Grillin’ and Chillin,’” the group made its comeback this year with more than 150 students who signed up, she said. The club was started in 2010 by Patrick Edwards ’11, Mitchell Oei ’11 and Brandon Zeiden ‘11, who enjoyed going out in nature to have fun and relieve stress. After the initial leaders graduated, the club experienced a lull in 2011 before being revived by club leader Matthew Zeiden ’13, who wanted to continue the tradition, Campbell said. Zeiden’s brother was an original founder of the newly revived club. The group “aims to reconnect the Harvard-Westlake community with nature, both on and off campus,” Zeiden said. The club meets in Rugby on Mondays.
Perform at hospitals to cheer up sick children and elderly patients 3
By Carrie DaviDSon
In addition to the play that the club will perform for The Harvard Westlake the Children’s Hospital and a Outreach Performance Club, nursing home, “we will also started by Tigist have individual perMenkir ’14, will put formers from the on plays for the ChilHarvard-Westlake dren’s Hospital and community, such a nursing home this as singers or musiyear. cians,” Menkir said. HWOP (prouSanah Ebrahim nounced “hope”), ’14 is one of the memcurrently plans on bers of the new club, performing a shortwho says she was ininathanson ’s er version of “Aratially drawn to their bian Nights” as one Tigist Menkir ’14 table at activities fair of their two perbecause her friends formances, as well as a stage were running the club. reading of “A Happy Journey” “When I heard what they by Thornton Wilder. were doing I thought it was reMenkir said that the plays ally cool so I decided to join,” “will mostly be happy, uplifting Ebrahim said. “I want to sing ones so that we can at their perforlift their spirits.” mances since I don’t “I thought of the really act.” idea in the middle of Ebrahim said last year but it was that she is excited too late [to start a about their pernew club] so I talkformances because ed to [performing “the idea of being arts teacher Chris able to sing for the Moore] and he said kids or seniors and nathanson ’s that he would help make them smile is me start the club,” really nice because Christopher Moore Menkir said. it will hopefully give Around a dozen people at- them something to look forward to.”
SARAH NOVICOFF/CHRONICLE
YOU MAKE ME SMILE: Mariel Brunman ’13 hands out stickers at the Clubs Fair to recruit new
4 Don’t worry, be happy, wear stickers By Lauren SiegeL Maddie Lear ’13 and Mariel Brunman ’13 started the Happiness Club to brighten students’ days through fun and unique events. “Our purpose is to do random, awesome things that make people around campus happy,” Lear said. Lear came up with the idea during a college tour last spring, where she was inspired by Northwestern University’s happiness club. “The original happiness club comes from Northwestern, but Maddie and I are putting our own spin on things,” Brunman said.
Lear and Brunman are already planning a wide array of events, such as Bubble Day, where students can blow bubbles in the quad, and Mustache Mondays, where they will pass out fake mustaches to the entire campus. “Everyone is so stressed out all the time,” Lear said. “Why not have a good time while we can?” The club has around 100 members and counting, however they hope to include the entire student body and faculty. “[Our events] are for the entire community,” Brunman said. “In some ways, anyone that chooses to partake in
Happiness Club shenanigans will be a member.” Lear and Brunman aim to “make everyone smile just a bit, so hopefully they can proceed with their day in higher spirits,” Brunman said. With math teacher Kanwaljit Kochar as their faculty sponsor and Dean Peter Silberman as their team captain, the club will meet during break a few times throughout the year to brainstorm events. Brunman said their mission is “to increase the happiness and decrease the tension around school.” “We can all feel like kids for a while and just have a good time,” Lear said.