Saint Mary's recently established English Club will turn to a new page this semester, as it plans to unify members in a shared love for literature and writing.
First year Deirdre Cawley said she hopes to contribute enthusiasm that will sustain the club and make it successful.
"It's very important to give [the club] momentum early on and give it that inertia to keep going," Cawley said. "I'm really happy about it because I like talking about books and reading, but outside of the context of English class, it can be really hard to find people to do that with. I'd like to think this will stimulate a lot of discussion."
She said recruiting people with different interests will create a dynamic organization in which club members can learn from one another.
"It would be really nice if we could get a lot of people from a variety of majors because everyone reads differently,” she said. “I like discussing books. It's a really good way to get to know people, I've found, because you can see what they think about a certain part, or maybe they'll pick up on something you totally overlooked, and it's really cool."
Cawley said she looks forward to developing her passion for literature through her involvement in English club, where she can meet like-minded peers who also see the value in reading and writing.
"I'm really excited, even if only a few people show up," Cawley said. "I'll stay optimistic and hope it grows because you can use English in a lot of different ways."
Cawley said English club will provide stability and comfort throughout the rest of her first year at the College, as she can engage in a familiar interest.
"My first semester has been all about experimentation for me, so it's really nice to have something I know — like English or writing — as sort of an anchor," Cawley said.
Senior Claire Bleecker said she also recognizes the importance of collaborating with peers who share similar interests.
"We want to get together and just celebrate English in general," Bleecker said. "I think solidifying any academic club is going to support the Saint Mary's community."
Bleecker said the club plans to host small informal gatherings, but would consider bringing in guests to speak to the club.
"Whenever we bring in someone, that person goes away with a really good impression of Saint Mary's," Bleecker said. "We'll sort of get our name out there the most if we start bringing people in to speak. Saint Mary's enables students to bring speakers in pretty easily."
Bleecker said English club aims to unify smaller affiliations of the English department, such as Chimes and The Avenue, the College's literary magazine and journal respectively.
"I think it's really important to have on campus because we have such a good writing and literature culture here," Bleecker said. "This is an opportunity to create one stable organization that could support all the literary magazines, all the really talented students, all the really talented faculty."
According to Bleecker, the club hopes to appeal to a range of students through its first event on Feb. 25, which will feature board games such as Scrabble and Bananagrams.
