Fall is coming. Leaves are starting to turn gold and brown, and the wind picking up pace, blowing past bushes and making trees dance. Students eagerly await the email that will remind them that the beginning of art club is on the horizon. They can’t wait to get their hands on a pencil and let their creative side flow.
The Fraser NAHS (National Art Honor Society) and art club has always been one of the most beloved clubs at Fraser High School. Last year, every Wednesday at 2:30, many kids would flock to the art room like a gaggle of birds to participate in fun projects. With the art teachers now gone, will the art club be re-established by the new teacher, Mrs. Bolin, or will art students have to do without for this year?
A lot of students would like to see the art club and NAHS come back, but there’s also a few of them that have concerns.
Elliot Dietrich, a Fraser High School student who participated in the art club last year, said, “I’m worried that the art club wouldn’t be the same. That the art projects we do aren’t fun and are just busy work.”
Though some students have concerns, students also want the art club back because without it, it makes it hard to get together as a group to work on projects. The art club helped with the fashion show, and they put on an art show last year. The art club students were able to help each other and offer advice, but now that will be much harder without a club to bring everyone together.
Emily Gayed, a Fraser High School NAHS member from last year, said, “The art club was a community for art students and kids who didn’t fit in. It allowed students to find their sense of self and make friends.”
Fortunately, past art students are making efforts to bring back the club. The art club created a discord server where they can talk to each other about upcoming news and ask for help or advice on a project. In this discord, Gayed has shared an idea of hers to bring attention to the dilemma of these art students.
Gayed said, “We are going to write letters to administration about how we want better funding for the art clubs, and work with Mrs. Bolin to help bring the clubs back.”
Though Gayed is hopeful for the return of NAHS, like many students. It isn’t that simple. The administration supports the return of NAHS and the art club. The problem lies in funding and time management.
Holly Bolin, the art teacher at Fraser High School, said, “I have plans to do it, but you have to be a member of the NAEA to run the National Art Honor Society, and I am not a member of that. I can’t run it until I become a member and it costs money.”
The NAHS will be harder to bring back than the art club. It might be a long time yet, before students see the return of their beloved NAHS club. But before Bolin can work toward her goal of bringing the clubs back, she wants to work on settling in her new position, without the stress of running two clubs by herself.
In regards to this, Bolin said, “As for art club, I have run art clubs in my previous jobs, but I don’t have the time or mental capacity to do it this year because I feel overwhelmed with the expectations as a new teacher. I plan on offering those things next year, if possible.”
Whether the art club comes back next year, or the year after, it is guaranteed to come back eventually. Fraser students will have to be patient while Mrs. Bolin works to acclimate to her new position. Mrs. Bolin is only one person, and she works tirelessly to run the art classes on top of balancing her home life. Until she feels ready to take on such a big challenge, the art club will have to wait.
