In the last couple of school years, a few new clubs have made an appearance at North.  The South Asian Student Association, the Muslim Student Association, and K-pop Club joined the school, adding to the number of diverse organizations here at North. Founders, presidents, and members shared the club-formation process and their experience with the newly formed communities.

South Asian Student Association 

Menaka Garapaty, Co-Founder

Q: Why did you feel motivated to start this club?

A: “The club existed before the pandemic as the Bollywood Dance Club, but I restarted it because I really enjoyed the environment when I was a member my freshman year. We changed the name to the South Asian Student Association because while dance is a big aspect of our culture, we wanted to bring more cultural activities to North.”

Q: What is the main premise of this club? What do you hope to achieve? 

A: “The main premise of this club is to create a community for South Asian students, but more importantly, include others to teach them about our traditions. We will practice Bollywood dance, as well as other South Asian dance forms, and perform in the Diversity Assembly. In past years, we have performed in the assembly unaffiliated with any club, so this year we will perform representing SASA! Also, we will host activities for commonly celebrated holidays throughout the year.”

Q: Is the club open to everyone? If people want to join, how can they?

A: “The club is open to every Olathe North student! Follow @onhs_sasa on Instagram to get updates for upcoming events. After the Diversity Assembly, we will create a GroupMe, but for now, all information is shared on Instagram.”

Q: What are your plans for the club this year?

A: “After the Diversity Assembly, we will continue dancing and hopefully perform at other events. We also want to fundraise for relief in South Asian countries so events like Cricket Day and Chai Time are in the works. Bollywood movie watch parties would be pretty cool too.”

K-pop Club

Ainslee Magee, Founder

Q: Why did you feel motivated to start this club?

A: “I wanted to start this because people don’t always feel accepted when talking about Kpop and I wanted to make a safe space for us to just have fun and talk and learn Kpop dances and all that.”

Q: How did you get people to join?

A: “I made sure to ask my friends to help spread the word and I made a poster to try and show what different groups there were and different things we would be doing.”

Q: Did you feel confident that people would join and acknowledge this club?

A: “I wasn’t totally sure that people would join and I was scared a bit that I would only have like 5 people join but in reality tons have joined and I feel confident we can still get more.”

Muslim Student Assosiation

Abrahim Asari, President

Q: Why did you feel motivated to start this club?

A: “Seeing the Muslim population increase within our students each year-at Olathe North, I saw there was a essential need for a club or organization to be started in our school. Islamophobia is incredibly prevalent in our society and can even come across in a school environment. I’ve talked to many Muslims at our school and the hardships that come with representing one’s identity. One student spoke about the anxiety and how they don’t feel like they belong in this country, when wearing a hijab. Hearing upon these struggles, I knew I could resolve such issues. This idea resorted into establishing the first MSA in the Olathe school district.” 

Q: What is the main premise of this club? What do you hope to achieve? Any goals?

A: “MSA seeks to promote inclusion of all religions and most importantly a safe and welcoming environment for anyone. We function to foster an environment wherein Muslims can interact with each other through a variety of social, educational, and religious activities. Our overarching goal is to build unity through diversity and education. The club aims to provide programs for people of all backgrounds, levels of knowledge and levels of piety to learn and meet with other Muslims here at Olathe North!”

Q: Is the club open to everyone? If people want to join, how can they?

A: “Yes yes yes yes! We cannot stress this enough! Being Muslim or not is never accounted for in this club. Here at MSA, anyone is more than welcome to join. If you are curious or want to learn more about the club, come see me or our club sponsor, Ms. Fisher, in room 712.” 

Q: What are your plans for the club this year?

A: “As this is the first official year of our MSA, planning and preparation is still in the works. We plan on collabing with other MSA around the area, such as Blue Valley schools and host fun interactive events, including service projects. Part of MSA is discussing real world problems and how we can contribute to help out with solutions. For example, with the hijab crisis and the oppression women have been facing in Iran, we plan to help out and speak out about it, raising awareness. Make sure to join the GroupMe for more information about our events!”