Student Organizations come and go, and that’s just fine by me
One of the most wonderful and frustrating things about being a student at The King's College is the institution of Student Orgs. The goods and bads of these organizations are tied into the same thing, which is the fact that an org lives or dies based off of the commitment and interest of the students running it. If at one time twenty students feel an overwhelming passion for fencing, then the fencing club will flourish, but if, a few years later, only two fencers remain, the fencing club will disappear. This, on first examination, may seem sad. We as humans are naturally inclined to bemoan the end of an era. But this system is actually perfectly natural, and well represents the basics of free market economics—if there is a demand, then there will be a supply! When the demand dies, the supply will die too.
New to the list Student Orgs this year are the TKC Programming and Computer Science Club and TKC Spirit Club, led by students Jordan Frankfurt ('16) and Madisen Abernathy ('16), respectively. Last year King's welcomed TKC Running Club and TKC Ski Club, led by Brandon Santulli ('15) and Carly Hoilman ('16).
This year I am creating the framework for a Film Society. I love movies, but, more importantly, I love being educated about movies. I want to always watch the next hard film, learn about the next obscure genre, and talk about the deeper implications of a movie I always before treated casually.
When I came to King’s as a Freshmen, I instantly saw the need for a film club, and was sad there wasn’t one for me to haunt. But it wasn’t until this year, when Professor Coleman showed interest in beginning a film club, that I realized something: if you want to see a club happen, you have to be the one that makes it happen.
As I now write the constitution and attempt to set up a group of officers, I can’t help but wonder how long this club can be sustained without me around to sustain it. I know that as long as I am at King’s, I will fight for there to be a group whose mission “is to pursue an education in ‘what is good film’ as well as to become well versed in directors, genres, and the affects a single film can have on the entire industry” (our mission statement).
But as I attempt to fill a demand that only I have, I don’t mind so much the idea that it will go when I go from King’s. We all like to think that we will leave some kind of legacy behind us a way in which we can be fondly remembered by our predecessors. But I have a feeling that these legacies exist even when our orgs cease to. This is because a legacy does not need to be a club that hangs around even when no one wants it any more. A legacy can be simply improving someone’s film repertoire by even one movie. If I, through the Film Society, can show people my favorite movies and help them consider film more critically, then I will consider my time at King’s well spent.
After all, all any of us can hope to do is help our contemporaries in any little way we can. This is my way.