By Gabriel Bernstein
With a plethora of clubs to consider at White Plains High School, it can be difficult to find a club that personifies you. Thankfully, we’re about to tell you about an inclusive club that instills creativity and fun in every meeting! The Sci-Fi club is a welcoming group that features its movie-loving members and its thoughtful advisor, Jennifer DeGraphenreed.
So what exactly is the Sci-Fi club? In the words of Ms. DeGraphenreed, the Sci-Fi club is “a place for all students to come and share, explore and celebrate their interests and passions in fandoms and pop culture, from film and television to comics and video games.” It’s a club where people are free to discuss and “nerd out” about that new Marvel series. It’s a safe space that acknowledges and treasures the craft behind that last Nintendo game.
The origin of the Sci-Fi club is intriguing. Our safe space began 14 years ago when a Science Fiction in Literature and Film class formed an unofficial gathering to converse about their movies and books. They only had DVDs, VCRs, and a television set. Students casually made a list of movies to watch. After two years, the Sci-Fi class finally created a formal group outside of their unofficial gatherings. The PTA was able to contribute by creating the Sci-Fi class’s first film library out of approximately 50 DVDs. With another three years spent as an official group, the Sci-Fi club finally came to be. With committed students and ample effort, the Sci-Fi club has over 50 members, a good reputation, and their own Nintendo switch. Pretty awesome, right?
In the past, the Sci-Fi club consisted of 10 kids simply conversing about movies in a classroom with only DVDs and a list. Our Sci-Fi club now has a committee of officers, creates calendars for monthly themes, streams movies almost every week, hosts game tournaments, and plans field trips yearly. This includes movies, museums, video game trucks, VR experiences, escape rooms, and even Broadway musicals.
If this hasn’t convinced you yet, take a look at what Sci-Fi’s members have to say about it. Club member Ezra said, “I love the community and the activities. I love the sense of freedom despite how we have a committee of officers. We all get to make the choices.” Elise, a committee officer of the club, said, “I love how it is a comforting place where people can ‘nerd out.’ It is absolutely a safe space for me.” These interviews were just a few of many in which students praised the Sci-Fi club.
Feel free to stop by the Sci-Fi club in room B-121. Meetings occur after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays weekly. If you have time, come down and check it out!