“A lot of people are woefully unaware of events going on in our world,” says senior Connor Suess, president and founder of the Current Events Club. “I started a club with the goal of raising awareness of events going on.”
Current Events Club, founded last school year, supplies a debate environment as well as a multitude of different viewpoints on a range of controversial issues. Typical meetings cover both international and domestic topics such as America’s ongoing conflict with ISIS and fracking, the practice of injecting high-pressure mixtures into rocks to extract oil and gas, in the States.
“The thing I really like about Current Events is that you have a lot of different perspectives, and they all collide in one place,” senior vice president Parker White mentions. “It makes you a more informed citizen.”
Through the club, members can strengthen their own viewpoints and opinions based on what other students think about issues going on in the world. With the club only having 20 people, everyone is able to get across their beliefs on taxes, wars and other controversial issues.
“The biggest thing that I hope they get out of it is just hearing other perspectives and being able to have a discussion on current events in a positive way,” club adviser Brent Silva states.
As a result of the variety of opinions, club meetings quickly turn into an interesting collision of opposing viewpoints, led by White, with members sharing their positions and voicing their thoughts on someone else’s argument. A controversial issue, such as the ongoing presidential election, can quickly spark a passionate debate between members with opposing perspectives.
“It’s given me a nice perspective into how the other side thinks and what their arguments are,” junior Filip Zacek adds. “It’s just interesting to see the different views everyone has.”
White notes there are two main groups that make up a club meeting: those who are well-informed on current events and those who are there to learn about world issues. Students looking to learn more about current events may walk away as better informed citizens as well as having a profound interest in what is happening in the world.
“For someone who is new to politics, it allows them to be socially aware of everything that is going on,” senior Hannah Kim notes.
Current Events Club meets every Tuesday during lunch in Room 20 to go over major events happening both locally and globally.
-Preston Miglaw
