We Asked, Y(O)U Answered: Should Clubs Be Coed?

Most people would consider the clubs at YU to be one of the best parts of their college experience. It allows students to meet people they wouldn’t usually meet and it allows them to try new things that they wouldn’t usually try. Across both campuses, clubs are considered to be a major part of student life. The Commentator reached out to different students and asked them if they believe that clubs in YU should be coed. 

Eli Saperstein (SSSB ‘23)

Accounting

“Clubs should represent the interests and desires of their students. If the students of the Broadway (NYC Culture) Club would like the club to be able to operate on both campuses, it should. If the Disney Club would like to operate only on the Beren campus, it should, and Wilf can create their own Disney Club. However, there are clubs that serve different purposes, such as the YU Republicans or the YU Democrats, where it should be in the best interest of the clubs themselves to be coed as they represent something broader than just the particular niche that the club is interested in. Each club represents a different facet and as long as a club does not fight the ability of students on another campus to form their own club I think students should be able to decide. What I do absolutely reject is the notion that a club should be forced to be non coed by another party whether it be student government or OSL for the sake of convenience. I believe an example of this would be the Chabad Club which was told they would have to combine despite serving different students.”

Racheli Jian (SCW ‘25)

Jewish Education

“I think that if a club can benefit from being coed, meaning that both campuses want the club, then clubs should be coed or have the opportunity to be. Although, if people on one of the campuses aren’t passionate about it or don’t necessarily want it, then it shouldn’t be expanded until there's a reason for it. I don’t think that all clubs need to be coed.” 

Alayna Higdon (SCW ‘24)

Psychology 

“I think it’s cool that some of the clubs are coed and some of the clubs are not coed. That way, it gives everyone the opportunity to be involved in student life no matter what their comfort level is. It has a little bit of everything for everyone’s taste.” 

Baruch Lerman (YC ‘23)

Biochemistry

“YU is a diverse institution in terms of interests and the extracurricular activities we offer should match the interests and needs of all students. There is no answer to “Should clubs at YU be coed or not” because the students at YU are not one thing and therefore could not possibly be served by just one kind of club. Each student needs to decide for themselves what kind of environment they want to be in and what activities interest them. But most importantly there is no right answer!”

Dov Pfeiffer (YC ‘24)

Math

“For clubs where there is sufficient interest on both campuses, and there are no halakhic concerns, like the math or poetry club, I think they generally should be mixed. It takes a lot of work to arrange clubs and events, so why not make it available to as many people as possible?”

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Photo Credit: The Commentator