Imagine browsing the school website during AC Lab one day when an apparent non-existing school club catches your attention. Do you ignore it since it doesn’t exist anymore? Or do you revive the idea you got so excited to join? That’s the decision juniors Emma Cantor, Maddie Fels, and I had to make.

“I was browsing the school website looking for information on a different club and I saw a tab for World Awareness Club. I thought it sounded interesting and I really wanted to join it,” Cantor said. “I clicked on it hoping to inquire more information but the only thing I found was for a meeting in 2011. I thought ‘well if I can’t just join it, maybe I can recreate it.”

World Awareness Club previously existed at Parkway Central but unfortunately died out several years ago when the founding student, Emily Wilson, now 25, graduated and the sponsoring teacher retired. Inspired by the lost idea of learning about and addressing issues affecting our world, nation and community, my friends and I decided to bring it back.

“I feel like a lot of people have the curiosity to learn about what’s going on but don’t have the means to discuss it,” Cantor said. “We want to provide a place where people can explore those curiosities and learn more about what they hear so we can intelligently talk about the things that are happening.”

Upon discovering the club online, Emma and I went around the school talking to various teachers about the club’s history when we ran into Maddie in the hall. We instantly knew she would be on board so we asked her to join, sat down together in the history commons, and planned our first club meeting.

“I wanted to help start this club because there’s a lot going on right now worldwide and and people aren’t really educated on it, ” Fels said. “I think lots of people can gain something from being more politically aware.”

As founders, we all agreed there’s many things happening in the world today and you can ask several people, especially teenagers, what’s going on and they’ll likely have no idea. We feel that our youth needs to be more educated to be able to combat our generations naivety and ignorance to become more well-rounded, aware people. Our main goal is to focus on discussion and education of current events and issues happening on both national and global levels.

“It’s going to focus on whatever the members and participants see fit,” Cantor said. “We’re going to do whatever we can to help other people learn as much as they can while having fun.”

Club sponsor and science teacher, Lee Johnson, said that through the resurrection of this club, “people will become more aware of all that is going on in the world which is very important.” Johnson is also the sponsor of Colt’s Demand Action, a similar political awareness club dealing with youth activism specifically regarding gun abuse.

Obviously, having an idea and a desire to start a new club is not enough to make it happen; there’s a process you have to go through. Luckily, the process of getting a club started is fairly simple. There is a form in the Student Activities office that needs to be filled out stating the club proposition, who the faculty sponsor will be, the focus of the club, how often it will meet, and when. Once the club is confirmed and deemed appropriate, the club can begin as soon as they’re ready.

“It’s hard when we all have different activities after school and we have to plan a meeting time and we aren’t all always available,” Fels said. “But this is something that’s important to us so we’re trying to find the time to make it happen.”

Learning more about what’s going on in the world and broadening one another’s perspectives is something the club wants to help everyone benefit from. World Awareness Club is currently on it’s way to a comeback; the first meeting will be Nov. 16 during AC Lab at 9:30 in Johnson’s room.