The Social Change club is a new club that hopes to provide a space for Jefferson students to learn about and take action on social, environmental, and cultural issues. The club hosted its first meeting, an interest meeting, on Wednesday, Jan. 27. 

The club was founded by Jefferson sophomores Sophia Li, Ananya Bandaru, Drishika Bose, and Jaya Gupta, and it aims to provide a space for students to  discuss ongoing social issues and current events. 

“A lot of times you don’t get to talk about [social issues] at home, or you just feel confined. You have these thoughts but don’t know how to voice them, and I wanted this club to have [a safe space] for students,” Li said.

However, getting the club on its feet didn’t come without struggles. The founders had the idea for this club in May 2020, but as it was too late in the year to start the club, the first meeting had been pushed back to this school year.

“I would say the hardest part [of starting the club] was finding a sponsor, because you don’t exactly know which teachers already have things planned and…I wanted to find a [sponsor] with some sort of background in history or this field,” Li said.

In this year’s virtual format,, some students may be hesitant to turn on their mic to speak up or to turn their cameras on. However, Li stressed that she wanted the club to be inclusive and for everyone’s opinion to be heard.

“What we’re trying to do is to create a sense of welcomeness and trust within the club…we want [students] to feel like no one’s opinions are going to be judged, everyone has a voice, and all your opinions are valid, because that’s really true,” Li said.

Jefferson Assistant Principal Ms. Russel and Principal Dr. Bonitatibus are the faculty sponsors of the club, and it meets every other Wednesday A block. More information on the Social Change Club can be found on Facebook.