C.A.B.B club members sit in a circle to discuss. Photo taken by Sophie LeBlanc.
There are many clubs at Malden High School, all of which are very unique. However, they all share a certain component: they all have a target audience. Whether it be an artsy student for the arts and crafts club, or a student that enjoys video games for the Super Smash Bros club, every student has qualities that would make a certain after-school activity more fitting. Wouldn’t it be nice, however, to have a club with no target audience at all?
Introducing the C.A.B.B club, which stands for Connecting Awareness and Breaking Barriers, founded by Class of ‘23 student Kiley Fray. She makes clear that “The idea of C.A.B.B is that anyone is fit for [the] club. If you are unique, have a passion, or just simply being yourself, everyone has an opinion.” The club will be held on Tuesday afternoons in Ms. Nims’ room, which is located at BR478.
Nierika Nims is an English teacher for grades 10-12 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to advise the new extracurricular. Although the club “really belongs to the students,” her role is to “really just empower them and provide any logistical support they require.” Fray asked Nims specifically because “[she centers] the importance of meaningful discussions.”
In her own words, Fray describes the club as “a way for students of different identities to come together and talk about things they are passionate about, whether it be parts of their identity or just certain topics that they find interesting.” Nims touched on how the club’s aspiration is “for these discussions to take place among peers with a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds.”
The club originated in a Jewish high school called Gann Academy, located in Waltham, Massachusetts. “It originally started in light of all the police brutality that [people of color] are facing right now,” explained Fray. She added, “[The students] wanted a place where they could talk about [issues that people of color have to face] and spread ideas on things that don’t affect them directly because [their] school is mainly white.” She decided to bring the club to MHS because “there are students with such different identities [that] face adversities.”
The club will start meeting soon, once a substantial number of students commit. Until then, the club will be offered as a joy block, available to everyone. Overall, both Fray and Nims are anticipating for the club to start rolling and would love to hear what you have to say.
