Every year at Langley, students gather outside for Club Day and face a plethora of clubs to join and sports to play. It can be overwhelming for any student. And for students who’ve been at a Club Day before, it can be hard to sift between clubs they’ve seen before and new clubs with new opportunities that might appeal to them.

Some of these include political clubs like Young Democrats, Turning Point USA, and Political Science.

The first of these, Young Democrats, was formed by sophomore Selina Al-Shahab, the president of the club. Over the summer she had worked in an internship in the local political scene and saw how much help they needed. However, this demand wasn’t the only reason she formed the club. In her eyes, there needed to be a space for students to express their political opinions, and Langley didn’t seem to have one.

“It’s really important that we incorporate politics into high school,” said Al-Shahab.

There was also the incentive to have speakers: school board candidates and delegates who currently want to speak to students but can’t unless invited by the school or a club. All are welcome, and Selina can’t wait to have debates and political discussions with people on both sides of the political spectrum.

Similar in mission, Turning Point USA was founded by the Sitilides brothers (Juniors Ellis, Cole, and Ian) and senior Jake Yates. Yates had felt that conservatives at Langley were afraid to speak their mind for fear of being chastised, and the club was created to make a space where that wouldn’t happen. He wanted a space where anybody could speak their mind about politics without fear, but also wanted to have the club as a place to teach, learn, and participate directly in the political process.

“We are a club that seeks to educate people about conservative values and we’re going to do political activism,” Yates said.

As of right now, the club is still in the process of being confirmed.

The final politically-inclined club is the Political Science Club, formed by junior Casey Lateef. Lateef had taken Political Science with Mr. Kuhn his sophomore year. However, coming into his junior year, there was an absence of a second, more advanced Political Science class; thus, the Poli. Sci. Club was formed. This year, he’s most excited to be able to talk about and debate upcoming American and international political events.

“It’s going to be a fun year, a lot’s happening: 2020 Presidential Election, Brexit in less than a month from now,” Lateef said.

No prior experience is needed to join, just an interest in discussing anything from the state of Venezuela to the Impeachment Inquiry.

The Be Best club isn’t technically new. It was formed in the last weeks of the last school year, but this year is the first time they’ve been able to advertise themselves to the student body. Formed by Seniors Emilie Gregory, Samantha Lobsenz, and Talia Farhoumand the club was created to help students earn service hours. Currently, once a month during Saxon Time, the Saxon Service club offers students the opportunity to earn a full hour of service. However, Gregory saw it as not enough. Thus, Be Best was created to give students more chances to get these hours, with things like tutoring the homeless and helping with food drives during Saxon Time once or twice a month.

“It’s a club where you can really make a difference,” said Lobsenz.

Another new club this year is the Business and Finance club, formed by seniors Sachin Muralidhar and Taha Hasan. Both wanted to provide a basic level of financial literacy for underclassmen and to help Langley students make more informed decisions regarding finance in general.

“Too many high school students leave high school with no background in basic economic matters, and it is reflected in the massive levels of student debt,” said Hasan.

Muralidhar, specifically, has spent the past year winning business-related competitions like the KWHS Investment Competition and hopes to use the experiences there to help lead the club. Paired with a list of keynote speakers consisted of industry professionals and experts, Muralidhar and Hasan hope to give back to the Langley community that has supported them thus far with a unique informative experience.

The last of these clubs, Spikeball, is entirely different in mission. Over the summer, Seniors Andrew Partridge, Jason and Michael Scheidlinger, and Steven Toporkov found an old set of spikeball equipment in the Scheidlingers’ garage, they looked up the rules, set up a game, and once they started, they couldn’t stop. When they four got back to school, they wanted a way to continue their new hobby. The Spikeball Club was formed soon after. They plan to meet once or twice a month after school, but they mainly plan to play over weekends. No experience is needed, and there’ll be free food for those who attend.

If any of these clubs seem interesting, contact them or their respective sponsors for meeting dates or info.