Return of the Readers

The Independence High School Book Club has climbed out of the crevice they fell into last year, regaining former members and gaining many new ones. They have plans for this semester, and they are doing what is necessary to execute them. 

This is mostly due to the efforts of the club’s officers: their president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer worked hard to encourage membership in the club. Senior Macie Keenen, the president of the Book Club, says, “We stepped up with what little people we had.” 

At the end of the 2021-2022 school year the book club had four permanent members. Keenen estimates that the membership has climbed to about 20 people, which is about the highest it’s ever been. 

Her presidency is coming to an end, having lasted almost four years. She hopes that the next administration of officers will “pass on the same tradition that we did and keep true to what the club is about and our purpose. And also learn from our mistakes.” 

Stephanie Ehrick, librarian and club sponsor, has plans for the club regarding the upcoming Drop-Everything-and-Read (D.E.A.R.) day. She’s “working with admin and other teachers” to encourage reading and encourage acknowledgement of this national holiday at Independence. “I think it’s a myth that students don’t like to read. There are some that don’t but there are many that do enjoy reading when they can pick the books,” Ehrick said. That is why she created the Book Club and why she’s so concerned about DEAR day. 

She trusts her officers to encourage acknowledgement of DEAR day throughout the school. She said that she’s been able to “step back and let the officers run the club and they’ve been doing it really well.” 

Senior Brenda Rodriguez, secretary for the Book Club, works behind the scenes to assist all the officers along with Ehrick. She has observed throughout her tenure that the club is “very chaotic.” This isn’t an issue, though, as the club members are usually big fans of chaos. 

When Ehrick created the club roughly 9 years ago, she did so expecting that the book club would change its focus depending on the members. It has, with the club currently focused on “books and reading.” In past years, community service projects have taken precedence. The club has plenty of members but it’s always looking for new people to join them at 2:45 p.m. on every other Tuesday in the Media Center.