There is a club on campus where school worries are put to bed and pop culture is celebrated within a creative and engaging community. This ethereal place lives in Mr. Martinez's room, (320,) where students Mirasol Martinez, Lily Mahmud, Payton Kachanon, and Bridget Golino lead the captivating experience of 4 The Culture.

4 The Culture was founded by current senior Mirasol Martinez. Mirasol had never been the biggest fan of clubs and explained that she wanted a space where she could have fun and “do silly things with [her] friends.” The four close friends planned out their club and dreamed of it being a space where students could, as treasurer of 4 The Culture Lily Mahmud explains, “connect with people, find new interests, and make new friends.” They cultivate an accepting environment without the hierarchical energy often seen in other clubs on school campuses. Mirasol, the president, explained that they don’t create an authoritarian environment where they all have to listen to the board - instead, they house a welcoming community where everyone's voices are heard. Payton, secretary, explains that they “don't take [themselves] too seriously” to give students a space where they can be “loose and free” and just have fun during the stressful times of school.

They typically start their meetings off with an introduction to what 4 The Culture is and present the rules to new students. Although rules seem counterintuitive to this club, they are not the typical club rules you would expect. Some of their rules include:

1. “No school/college talk”

2. “No trolling”

3. “No bullying”

4. “No racism, no misogyny, and no homophobia”

And my personal favorite rule;

5. “You have to be able to name five women” 

Mirasol Martinez is the president of the club, Bridget is vice president, Lily is treasurer, and Payton is secretary. Although they all have different roles and responsibilities, Lily explains that they “all do equal shares of the work like slides and presenting.” Oftentimes, they collaborate with each other to come up with a concept for the day, and then create an activity that matches the overall theme. For example, the theme of the past mid-October meeting was Halloween, where Bridget and Lily presented a whimsical slideshow giving directions for the activity of collage making. Payton and Mirasol passed out the material for the project and students were mesmerized for the rest of the meeting. 

Club leaders describe the importance of these rules and how they help to reshape the culture of our school and communities. They help welcome new students into the club and make sure that the club is perceived as a fun space where people can be themselves. They also make sure to tell students that “It's okay to cringe.” Mirasol explained how they “want people to be comfortable in the setting of [their] club and [they] want people to be able to be true to themselves and express themselves without being judged.” This is a testimony to how welcoming their space is and how it's a place for fun and laughs and not haters. 

4 The Culture is a space where students can come in and just interact with new people and engage in fun activities like collage making, writing secret valentines day cards, or making time capsules. Thank you Mirasol Martinez, Lily Mahmud, Bridget Golino, and Payton Kachanon for a great, cringe year! The culture will miss you.