Muslim Culture Club:
Showcased at the Club Fair among the several other new clubs created this year was Muslim Culture Club. Junior Aliyah Aftin has been working with Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Ms. Joanne Beauvoir Brown to start this new opportunity.
Aftin recognized there was a gap in what Pace students knew about Muslim culture. Even though there are two billion Muslim people in the world, she points out, we can feel detached from that at Pace, and “I want to make it less foreign to people,” she said.
“Last year we had the first Eid presentation, which I did, and I want to expand on that to share culture and experiences,” Aftin said. The club isn’t a religious club, but instead focused on Muslim culture. Although the club is just starting out, opportunities could include sharing food by having lunches from different countries, movie nights in the FAC, and potential fundraisers.
Look out for opportunities to participate in Muslim Culture Club, and contact Aliyah Aftin for questions!
JCL:
You may have heard Junior Classical League, or JCL, announcements at assembly, but you might be surprised that JCL has been around for about 20 years at Pace. In recent years due to COVID-19 the program hadn’t been as large, but recently it’s been revamped under the leadership of club leaders Van Muller and Claire Jiang.
Although JCL is primarily known as a Latin club, Junior Van Muller said “we’re trying to spread it as not just a Latin club but more of a classics club, because there really is something for everyone.”
Last year featured many exciting events set up by JCL, including Latin Quiz Bowl competitions, or Certamen, and celebrations of Roman holidays like Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Junior Van Muller was especially proud of the popsicle boat race in the pool in celebration of Quinquatria, saying these projects are “emblematic of what we value as a chapter, which is fun.” JCL has local, statewide, and nationwide competitions, and Pace had a lot of success last year. Junior Claire Jiang became Georgia’s JCL First Vice President, Pace won March Photo of the Month at the state competition, and Muller was first in the country for tenth grade decorative stitching and textiles.
JCL has even begun to expand beyond the Upper School. Middle School Latin teacher and Sixth Grade Dean Kim Peterson and Middle School Latin teacher and Eighth Grade Dean Stewart Tarvin have set up a middle school chapter of JCL. They were able to do a mosaic project for Lupercalia and also participated in the Quinquatria boat race.
“This year we want to continue the JCL spirit, and we’re ramping up everything we did last year and more,” Muller said. JCL participates in service projects and this year plans to focus on migration. “I went to Greece this summer on an ICGL trip, and along with looking at classical ruins we also learned about the refugee crisis there,” they explained.
“In JCL, I’m hoping we can work with organizations like the Hope Project and Safe Place to provide aid for migrants. Other plans include expanding membership, launching a website to streamline communication, and adding even more events. “I’m so excited to see what this next year brings,” Muller said. “We have a lot of people going to Fall Forum and I hope they see there how amazing this community is.”
Knight Gallery:
Pace Academy has several student publications, including newspaper and yearbook, but you may not have heard of Pace’s literary journal, Knight Gallery. Any student can submit poetry, short stories, personal essays, photography and artwork by emailing knightgallery@paceacademy.org, and then members will review the work and decide whether to include it in the publication. The magazine is given out at the end of the year and features a wide variety of literary works from all grades created both in and outside of classes.
This year the club’s faculty advisor is English and creative writing teacher Mrs. Hayley Conroy.
Knight Gallery had lower membership than usual last year, but the editor of Knight Gallery, Senior Millie Gray, is trying to revive it, and they’ve already had good turnout so far this year. “We’re excited to read a lot of cool pieces, eat good food, and have a fun time,” she said.
Bagels and Bonsai:
Boasting one of the most popular club instagrams at Pace and the largest number of members is Bagels and Bonsai Club.
The unlikely combination of bagels and bonsai proves quite successful, as its members find peace and stability in the teachings of the club. Club leader Henry Levenson says, “money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy bagels and bonsai.”
However, this year Bagels and Bonsai has had trouble, as Student Council denied them funding. The club requested money to pay for the Goldberg’s bagels traditional at their meetings, and Student Council said clubs must pay for their own food. Bagels and Bonsai retaliated by kicking all Student Council members out of the club, but they have still not received any funding.
BSA:
Black Student Alliance, or BSA, has had a successful start to the year, and both new and returning members are already enjoying it. Junior Dallis Welsh says “I enjoy BSA because it’s a way for all the Black students to come together and enjoy things like music and movies even if we’re not in the same classes.”
BSA had a big turnout at the club fair and is already planning events for the next couple months. Senior and club leader Sidney Keys said “BSA has a movie night planned on October, Friday the 13th” and the club is already working on projects for February, which is Black History Month.