With the new-school-year feeling fading away, students return to old habits, sports turn to Inter-Ac league rivals, and clubs start up again.
Many teachers and students would say clubs make Haverford special.
One of the most well known is Mock Trial, which meets twice a week for ninety minutes. Mock Trial members also gain a credit towards their two-credit sports requirement.
“We had a ton of signups amongst new and returning students,” Sixth Form leader Connor Haney said. “This speaks to the reputation that Mock Trial holds as a good way to get involved intellectually.”
Whether a student wants to pursue law in college or prepare for Fourth Form history’s WWI trials, Mock Trial provides students experience, preparation, and skills.
Whether a student wants to pursue law in college or prepare for Fourth Form history’s WWI trials, Mock Trial provides students experience, preparation, and skills.
“Mock Trial is a unique club, in that the skills you learn are both directly translatable to your everyday life, such as public speaking and thinking on your feet,” Sixth Former Milan Varma said. “You also get an insight into law, which is the backbone of our country.”
Haney agrees.
“The first thing is just public speaking in general. A lot of what we do at Mock Trial is just speaking,” Haney said. “Most times you’re not saying something legal, you’re just practicing [speaking].”
One has to be interested in law to participate.
“There are a lot of things you can take away from it even if you’re not necessarily interested in becoming a lawyer,” Haney said.
Even though Mock Trial has seen lots of interest, it has been challenging to maintain determined participants throughout the season.
“Last year, we found ourselves with tons of interest, which is great, but we were forced to withdraw from the state tournament due to a lack of participants late into the season,” Varma said. “To fix this issue, we’re bringing back tryouts and creating a team that will stay engaged.”
The group leaders have plans to improve.
“One of the main goals is to have everyone more involved in the program,” Haney said. This, in turn, may lead to “winning, developing our guys, and growing relationships.”
Similarly, Varma said the team’s main goal was “creating a more streamlined team of dedicated students.”
The team has high hopes for the season ahead.
“It should be a great one,” Varma said.
