Club Spotlight: The Physics Club
Words by Fabliha Hussain
Graphic by Aspasia Celia Tsampas
The Physics Club of The City College of New York (CCNY) is a student-run club open to all majors, but especially to those with even the slightest interest in physics. Whether you are a student who is not sure a future in physics is right for them, just curious about the subject, or determined that physics is a perfect path for you.
With approximately 90 members, the Physics Club at CCNY hosts events of all kinds. Some of which include research talks discussing physics, research concerning a variety of topics, and panels with physicists of many disciplines to encourage interest in physics and support their members’ interest. Additionally, they offer lab tours, luncheons, and conferences such as The Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP).
Besides the above offerings, The Physics Clubs allows members to engage in outreach programs for kids in high school, middle school, and elementary school so that they can support the interest the youth have in physics. Not every event is about physics, however. The club also holds movie nights, game nights, stargazing nights, and other fun events so that members can socialize and enjoy time with each other. Their primary goal is to provide a space for people interested in physics to mingle and take part in activities related to their interests.
The E-board members who make these events happen are Aidan Subrahimovic, the President; Bushra Wahid, the Vice President; Alex Cernei, the Secretary; and Polina Belosouva, the Treasurer. The president is responsible for hosting meetings, delegating tasks, sparking interest in the club, and recruiting new members. The vice president takes over for the president when they are not present, makes flyers for events, reserves rooms for the events, handles all communications with Student Life, and encourages members to join the Society for Physics Students. The secretary's tasks include handling emails between the Physics Club and other clubs, speakers, professors, etc.; taking minutes for meetings; and making sure meetings and events run smoothly. The treasurer's tasks include making sure the club receives all necessary funds for events, collecting payments, and keeping track of all financial records. The E-board works hard to bring events to its members.
Fortunately, the transition from the clubroom to Zoom has not caused the turnout for these events to decrease. The transition was made smoother by the creation of a virtual clubroom on Discord, a digital distribution platform for online communities, by Dahkota DeBold. This virtual clubroom has about 90 members who frequent the server. Some events cannot be done virtually, such as stargazing, but the E-board does not let this stop them from churning out events frequently. Getting information out about the events to all the members has also been relatively the same through the use of social media and emails.
When asked why she joined the physics club, Wahid, the Vice President, said,
I joined The Physics Club because it seemed really fun, and I am interested in physics, so I met the minimum requirement. I would often see members in the clubroom just having fun in lively and often really funny conversations and I wanted to take part in that fun. Everyone in the club was helpful when I needed help with certain classes and encouraging in by always reminding me that physics is a difficult subject so I shouldn't beat myself up over not meeting my own expectations. I suppose I could summarize my reason into: I joined the club because of the friendly and fun atmosphere.” She also states how one of the things she misses the most about in-person events is the free food offered.
The Physics Club has been working hard to continue their club both on campus and online.
Students who are interested can:
Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/654691307896556/?ref=share
Follow their Instagram: https://instagram.com/ccny_physics_club?igshid=1xt1gece1ckor
Join the Discord server: https://discord.gg/znZEWw3
