As stated in the school district mission statement, it is Springfield Township’s goal to help students be, “achieving, resilient and responsible in a changing global community.” To look at the steps being taken to reach these goals, one can look no further than the wide selection of clubs offered at Springfield Township High School. Over the past years, students have created affinity groups to incorporate religion and culture into the school community. The Equal Access Act, upheld by the Supreme Court in the Mergens case, requires public secondary schools to allow student religious groups to meet on an equal basis with other non-curricular student groups. For this article, we will be highlighting religious affinity groups at the high school.
The Jewish Affinity Group
The advisor of the Jewish Affinity Group, Mrs. McDonnell, defines the club as “students’ way to get together and to spread awareness about Judaism.”
Club Officer and leader Ari Schwartzman says one of the goals is “to show the culture.” He elaborates, “Judaism is a religion, but it’s also an ethnicity, a culture, and a people – meaning, there’s no one way to be Jewish.” He goes on to explain how religion does and does not play a role in the club, commenting “There is a difference in how we in the Jewish Affinity Group define ourselves and how a lot of people see us… religion is only a part of most people’s Jewish identities.”
When asked what the purpose of the club is, club officer Ani Axelrod responded that it is “to make sure that the Jews and even non-Jews in the community have a space where they can feel open to have conversations and talk about their experiences.”
She opened up further on her own experience, sharing, “In general it’s hard to find the space even out of school where Jews fit in, and this gives us a space where we can talk about our personal experiences, good or bad.”
Club officer Anya Geynisman added her perspective on the club and how it is made for “other people and Jews to come together and have a tight community,” expressing that “it’s really nice to just share Judaism and share our culture.”
So what does the Jewish Affinity Club do? He shares that they hold a small Seder – a Jewish ceremonial service celebrating Passover – in the spring, which helps cater to the religious aspect of the affinity club, and also lists the numerous ways the club has tried to spread its culture and story, “through the food, the dance, [and] the clothing.”
The Jewish Affinity Group also brings a Holocaust Speaker every year to share his or her story. Mrs. McDonnell describes it as a “positive experience,” saying she “[hopes] the students learned something from that.”
The Jewish Affinity group will also be presenting during Diversity Day, so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about Judaism on Friday, April 25.
Young Life
Young Life, a Christian-affiliated club (only formed this school year) was created to “just be a place hopefully where people can feel supported” through religion, as stated by club advisor, Mr. Allen, who is also a community member and volunteer track coach.
Club founder, Victoria Dant, shares her story, “Here at Springfield there are a lot of diverse clubs, and I felt in my heart that I didn’t really fit into any of those groups.”
Dant states that her intention for the club was to “create a bigger community in Springfield.” She is ”hoping to get more people,” and member Frankie Nelson shares that he believes the club “definitely brought more to the table” in terms of strengthening one’s relationship with God.
According to Dant, a typical club meeting includes “go[ing] through a section of the bible – right now [they’re] in Luke,” and “go[ing] through a paragraph or two [of the section] to kind of dissect it and try to egg on the conversation.”
Mr. Allen states, “It’s a really open place to talk,” and that “people can say ‘hey I don’t really understand this’ or ‘this kind of doesn’t match up with my life experience’ [when discussing the bible],” free from judgment. Frankie Nelson agrees, and states that “It’s nice to connect with people and learn more about the Christian faith.”
When asked how this club has benefited Springfield, member Erin Quinn opens up that “It definitely opened my eyes more,” and Dant shares, “It’s helped me grow in my faith”.
