On Wednesday, April 29, and Friday, May 1, the clubs of Tracy High, as well as the freshman and sophomore classes, set up in the quad during both lunches for the Club Market. This event gave these groups the opportunity to raise funds for next year.
Clubs such as Feast, Black Student Union, Academic Decathlon, Asian Pacific Islander Club and many more set up tables offering treats and fidget toys in exchange for tickets. Black Student Union notably came back this year with “Bonnets and Brownies” after the sale was popular last year, but this year they also offered cookies alongside the original items.
“Bonnets are a huge part of Black culture,” explained club member Aneria Lezine. “So our club had to figure out what we could do to promote more of what our club is about, which is how we came up with the concept.”
Behind the scenes, the Club Market took significant effort. Many clubs worked to produce the items sold.
“Everything was made from scratch,” said BSU member Janyiah Haymon.
BSU also noted feelings of pride when seeing students around school wearing what the club sold.
“We love seeing people around campus wearing our bonnets,” Haymon said.
Academic Decathlon, best known for its wintertime subject competitions, also appeared during the market selling cookie pizzas and churros.
“Currently AcaDec doesn’t have many funds,” said club Vice President Michelle Luu. “We’re doing this so that next year we’ll have money if we need to do anything for the competitions.”
Many of the clubs present were also surprised by the number of students interested in purchasing their goods.
“We’re happy with how many people wanted to buy stuff,” Luu said. “It was nice to see the number of tickets grow.”
The Club Market was also a way for new Tracy High clubs, or clubs returning after years of hiatus, to make their presence more noticeable, such as the community service-based Key Club. They sold soft fidget toys and star bread.
“This is the first year that Key Club has come back in around three years,” explained member DeAndre Sandoval-Arroyo. “It was nice being able to show the school that our club matters just as much as the more established clubs like BSU.”
Through the market, club members gained experience with group communication when planning, as well as organizing large events.
Students were instructed to exchange their money for tickets, with each ticket worth one dollar, which were used to pay the clubs. After the market, the clubs exchanged their accumulated tickets back into cash and used the funds for their club’s purposes.
