LASA Feminist Club

The LASA Feminist Club was created in September of the 2021-22 school year. The club aims to help members participate and have a greater impact on issues concerning women’s rights.

The inspiration to start the LASA feminist club came from the Heartbeat Bill, formally known as Senate Bill 8. The bill, which went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in Texas. Senior Amaru Marsee, founder of the feminist club, originally wanted to organize a walkout, but after talking to the principal, they decided on a more effective approach.   

“We went and talked to Ms. Crescenzi about it, but she said that walkouts weren’t an effective form of creating change because it brings publicity more to the people that are running rather than the actual issue,” Marsee said. “After that, we created the club just to get people to participate and to have a greater impact on the issue.” 

According to senior Ireland Cole, this organization has made a lot of progress with their effective ideas. The club is currently working on a variety of different projects, such as emailing companies about the issue, or teaching self-defense classes.

“I had an idea for teaching women basic self-defense,” Cole said. “We could get martial arts trainers to volunteer and teach a course maybe in the gym during lunches to basically just learn how to get away.”  

As the club’s president, Marsee is sure that with the determination and commitment of the members, LASA’s feminist club will achieve their target and push forward for equal rights for women. 

Senior Morgan Pascoe says the club’s ultimate goal is to reverse the Heartbeat Bill. The club is starting to work towards this goal by getting companies to take a stance on the issue, which club members are helping to push by emailing them.

“Ultimately, we would like to have companies on our side,” Pascoe said. “Right now, that’s our main goal. And we’re gonna focus on other issues, if we actually create change on that. But I think that this is an ongoing issue. So this is probably our primary motive.” 

LASA Literary Club

Several students at LASA wanted to promote both the reading and analytical aspect of the literature world, so they created the LASA Literary Club. The club was created last year during quarantine, and many students this year have shown keen interest in the club, starting with Sophomore Sameer Aragwal, founder of the club.

Agrawal said that they found joy in everyday reading and wanted to create a space for others with similar interests. Agrawal originally started reading more during quarantine, and wanted a place for students like him to get recommendations and discuss books.

“I thought it would be fun to create a space where we could discuss what we’d read and what we enjoyed or didn’t enjoy,” Agrawal said.

Although co-president of the club, Saffron Liu, a sophomore, enjoys reading in solitary, they find joy in reviewing the books with fellow readers. According to Liu, a student-run club is much more appealing than in-class reading.

“Part of the fun has always been talking to someone else about the book and seeing what they thought about it,” Liu said. “Normally, in English, discussion revolves around topics set by the teacher. We’ve been able to focus more on dynamics between characters or plot foreshadowing rather than things like the language used or literary devices.”

According to sophomore and club member Marcus Lapina, reading can be very burdensome when it’s assigned for homework in English classes. Although, when meeting for the club, Lapina says that members are able to read new material outside of class, of their own interest.

“My favorite part about the club is being able to take a break from reading in the context of a class and read just for our own enjoyment,” Lapina said.

Along with engaging seminars, Lapina says that LASA Literary Club offers new friendships and connections. Members get to meet people who have similar interests in authors or styles of writing, that they might not have gotten to know otherwise, according to Liu.

“It’s been super fun discussing books and making new friends,” Liu said. “It’s been cool to meet new people who also enjoy reading. There are a lot of people who come to the club that I would not have crossed paths with otherwise.” 

Science Olympiad Club

Science Olympiad is an academic laboratory engineering competition, composed of 23 separate events that students compete in. Students compete in two to four events in teams of two or three. Events range from academic events to building or engineering events to laboratory events. The Science Olympiad club at LASA was established in 2005.. 

According to club member and freshman Naina Jacob, Science Olympiad is a club that has creative, studious, and constructive aspects. She says students can choose their desired competitive subjects.

“This club balances studying and socializing, leading up to a pleasant experience,” Jacob said.

Along with varied subjects, Science Olympiad consists of many competitions all over the country. Club member Shantala Totada finds them very engaging and enjoyable.

“My favorite part about this club is the competitions and traveling to different places,” Totada said. “While competing, we get to compete at schools such as UT or CyFalls or Seven Lakes, and it is really fun traveling there and hanging out with friends.”

It isn’t all about the competitions that make up the complete Science Olympiad experience, Jacob expressed. The new friendships are what make the club fun, according to Jacob.

“I joined this club to be introduced to new people and learn about different science topics,” Jacob said. “It’s a lot of fun competing because you can work with friends and do work that can win you a medal.”

This club isn’t just about studying and preparing for competitions. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes action that needs to be done by science teacher David Walker, Science Olympiad’s sponsor, in order to get members engaged. 

“My main role is to get resources, find good textbooks, and find good internet sources for people to use,” Walker said.

According to Walker, Science Olympiad is all about individual opportunities. He says students can decide for themselves how they want to approach the club and what subjects they want to take a deeper dive in. 

“In general, I think that it’s a fun opportunity for  people to pursue science outside of class,” Walker said. “It can be as intense or as not intense as you want it to be as a member of the club.”