Opening students’ eyes to political issues, the social justice clubs at school are making a comeback. The upcoming clubs include the Feminist Club, led by juniors Mariel McMindes and Kathryn Harter, Gay Straight Alliance, led by junior AJ McNamee, and the Model United Nations Club, led by junior Carol Moseley.

“I am glad that the social justice clubs are becoming more relevant at school. I think it’s important for students to get involved in social justice,” junior Daniel Roseman said.

This is the first year for the Feminist Club. Starting the foundations for the club during the summer, leaders McMindes and Harter have been working to jumpstart the club through the creation of a Twitter and posting flyers around the school.

“People should join this club, because it takes an often misunderstood topic and strips it down to the simplest form of what it is,” McMindes said. “Feminism is the belief that all genders should be equal in every way, shape, and form. By joining this club, people can come and eat and have fun, while actually helping the cause. Each changed mind makes a difference in society. When Kathryn Harter, the co-founder of Feminist club, asked me if I wanted to start this club with her, I was immediately in love with the idea, and I couldn’t wait to get started.”

McMindes aims to make members more knowledgeable about worldwide feminist issues.

“Feminist club is a club that advocates for equality, specifically but not exclusively in regards to women,” McMindes said. “Our club’s goal is to inform our members about the true definition of feminism and to eliminate some of the stereotypes that are inaccurate and harm this movement. Our club would also like to discuss feminism in regards to how women are treated in other countries, such as Norway and Saudi Arabia compared to the United States.”

The Feminist Club meets at seven before school in Boles room.

While the Feminist Club focuses on women’s right, GSA advocates for the rights of LGBTA+ people. GSA’s attendance has increased from around four members in the 2013-2014 school year to 20.

“GSA is really productive but it’s still in the beginning. The goal is to make the school not as awful at social stuff and not as ignorant to LGBTA+ stuff,” McNamee said.

In meetings, members discuss how to make the school more excepting for LGBTA+ people.

“We talk about how we can make the school better and how we can take action,” McNamee said. “I started it because at a camp I went to this summer, they said I should create a GSA at my school. We meet Tuesdays after school in O’Tooles room [room1403]. We are a bunch of cool kids and it is a good learning experience,” McNamee said.

The Model UN Club is sponsored by Collins and has not had any meetings yet. It is a place for students to discuss global issues in the mindset of the UN and how to combat them effectively.

“I have wanted to join a Model UN Club for awhile, so since no one already had one. People should join if they are interested in solving global scale issues and have opinions on major world problems,” Moseley said.

The Model UN Club is planning on having students look at issues outside of West.

“It aids the school’s diversity of understanding our world. It brings up issues and allows for a platform for conversation about said issues,” Moseley said.

Issues being discussed include political and social injustices and topics debated in the media today.

“The issues we plan to talk about will create a very interesting discussion and I’m curious of answers that people have,” Moseley said.