[NEWS BRIEF] Chinese club welcomes members old, new

Audrey Han, Reporter|Oct 15, 2022

Photo provided by Selina Qiu

Freshmen Lucas Wang and Riley Hudlow write down their answers to a question in the friendship test on a white board while sitting back-to-back. Sophomore and tutorial manager Kevin Li stood behind them to prevent cheating and to keep track of their points.

Members hold the “up” position for the first round of the pushup game where only boys participated. Web coordinator Dylan Wang as the “coach” gave commands to go up or down at random times using a whistle. (Photo provided by Chu Tsai)

To celebrate the start of a new school year, the Bellaire Chinese Club hosted its annual welcome party on Friday, Oct. 7 in LGI 2.

Over 70 students gathered for the club’s first event of the school year, enticed by the notion of games, snacks and an afternoon full of fun.

During the party, members played musical chairs, a friendship test and participated in pushup competitions to get to know one another.

For senior Theo Hunt, the most enjoyable activity was Splat, a game requiring members to stand in a circle with one person in the center slowly eliminating people one by one.

“Splat was when we got everybody to play with each other,” Hunt said. “It just seemed really inclusive and like it was a good time for everyone.”

Club members show their answers for a question during the friendship game. Sophomores Anita Weng and Kaitlyn Endique both answered “never,” earning one point together as a group. (Photo provided by Selina Qiu)

A BCC member since freshman year, Hunt originally joined after hearing about it from his Chinese teacher, club sponsor Chu Tsai.

“I remember in ninth grade, Mrs. Tsai talked about BCC and highlighted how it’s where a lot of Chinese students would get together,” Hunt said. “Obviously there are non-Chinese students as well, but it’s a big cultural gathering, so that sparked me and a lot of my classmates’ interests.”

Compared to the welcome party of his freshmen year, Hunt was surprised by how much larger the club had become.

“In ninth grade, the welcome party was in a normal-sized classroom, and then this year’s was in an LGI where we got speakers, a projector and a lot more games,” Hunt said. “It seemed a lot more professional and put together.”

The size of BCC is a unique characteristic of the club, helping attract new members each year.

Freshmen Aria Jin and Madeleine Lim participate in the first round of the chopsticks game. This game required members to use chopsticks to pick up as many beans as possible from a paper plate and drop them into a cup within one minute. (Photo provided by Selina Qiu)

“In other clubs, there are not as many people, but in Chinese Club there are like 100 members,” freshman and tutorial manager Miranda Wang said. “It was surprising to see a large number of people there [at the welcome party].”

Sophomore and treasurer Elizabeth Zhou said the club improved in terms of promotion and creating fun events for the members. She felt rewarded watching members volunteer to play the club’s games while officers cheered them on, as one goal for hosting the Welcome Party was for members to feel comfortable in the club.

“When you see someone enjoying something you really worked hard towards, it’s a very proud moment for you,” Zhou said. “The first event we have for the year is one of the biggest and most fun so members will want to join us for the rest of the year.”