Feel the rush: CCHS SGA hosts annual Rush Week virtually

BY ARIELLE KRAUS

As with everything turning digital, CCHS’s Student Government Association (SGA) decided to host Rush Week virtually for the 2020-21 school year. Rush Week is a week where clubs advertise in order to gain new members. This year, it took place from September 8 to September 11 and over 30 clubs participated.

Normally, Rush Week is held face-to-face and clubs create boards and flyers which are displayed during lunch. Club representatives are able to interact with CCHS students and share their club with them. However, due to COVID-19 and school continuing to remain online, SGA hosted Rush Week virtually.

“It’s important for students to get involved in extracurricular activities– whether it’s an extension of an academic class, a community service club, hobby [or] whatever anyone finds interesting in regular circumstances– but with everything that’s occurring and the limitations that are set, it’s even more important to find ways to engage with others in a safe and fun environment,​” SGA Advisor Natalie Flaten said. “I hope the students gain some hope that they can still have a fun high school experience even though it’s virtual– it comes down to being willing to step out of comfort zones [and] embrace everything that CCHS has to offer.”

“I hope the students gain some hope that they can still have a fun high school experience even though it’s virtual– it comes down to being willing to step out of comfort zones [and] embrace everything that CCHS has to offer.”

SGA Advisor Natalie Flaten

The process of planning Rush Week virtually was a task SGA had to take on. They decided to have each club create their own Canvas page for students to join where meeting reminders and other announcements will be shared with members. Additionally, clubs created a flyer and video to show students what their club is and what they do. SGA then posted all the club flyers and videos on their website’s Rush Week page.

“We brainstormed the best way to reach the most people and then contacted clubs to get information to put out on their behalf,” SGA Second Vice-President Drew Okun said. “One of the challenges we faced was just compiling the flyers and videos. This process was not too difficult and will only be easier in the future.”

Although digital Rush Week still has the same intentions of attracting members to clubs, hosting it virtually differs from face-to-face as club officers are no longer able to engage in in-person conversations with prospective members.

“[I prefer] face-to-face … because it provides more opportunity to interact with new members as well as old,” Jewish Student Union (JSU) President Kaela Goldstein said. “There were no challenges [virtually], as we all are constantly engaged and ready to partake in whatever JSU needs.”

The purpose of Rush Week is to get students involved. As the week progressed, students were able to learn about the various clubs CCHS has to offer and select the ones that interest them. Clubs are hoping to gain new members and adapt to this new virtual environment in the smoothest way possible.

“We hope to have many new members and … we can’t wait to see how being a club virtually works out,” Helping Overcome Problems Effectively (HOPE) Sunshine Club President Matthew Milotakis said. “We all just want to provide a space for students to feel safe and be able to talk about concerns or worries and learn about their mental health so that this time in front of a screen can be even a little bit easier.”

Being virtual poses a challenge as it comes with technical difficulties as well as the lack of physical contact, however, SGA wanted to make sure Rush Week still met the needs and wants of the student body.

“Although this is not ideal, especially for seniors, I believe it is important to keep a positive attitude and make the best out of what we have,” SGA President Emily Aaron said. “SGA plans to make this year as amazing as possible and we hope to allow students to be able to experience high school as normal as possible, while still being safe and connecting with students.”

Click here to check out Rush Week 2020

Photo courtesy of Principal Vera Perkovic’s Twitter