As of this year, North has added a new club to their list of extracurricular activities- Potato Club. Starting as a joke in founder DeAjia Philmon’s head, Potato Club has taken North by storm. The idea formed shortly after Philmon had seen a meme on the internet of a potato. She found this relatable and humorous and, thus, the thought of Potato Club was born.

Potato Club was brought to the attention of Ms. Connor, English teacher at North, last year and she accepted the position of the club’s sponsor. Soon, word got out that Potato Club was in the works. Connor says, “She kind of got the whole B8 class of last year talking about it.”

She furthers this by saying that there were roughly six kids that were adamant about Potato Club becoming a legitimate club.

Their first meeting was on August 24th, 2017. So far, they’ve had two meetings centered around eating various types of potatoes including French fries and chips.

Keera Kirksey, 11, describes her initial reaction to Potato Club saying, “Is this real? I’m signing up.”

Kirksey added that her reason for joining is because when people would ask her what her favorite food is she would always say ‘potatoes’.

However, for Zoe Gregorio, Potato Club is different. Her reason for joining goes beyond her interest in potatoes.

Gregorio joined in order to have a “stress-free activity…during the school year”.

Despite the positive feedback from its members, Potato Club is not loved by everyone. Philmon addressed the negativity, saying, “They are just hating because they’re mad that they don’t have the courage to stand out and be a part of something that’s different.”

In the future, Philmon plans to start doing community projects like growing their own potatoes or raising money for care packages that can be donated to people in Syria. She said that this will hopefully win over the people who haven’t seen Potato Club as a serious organization. These goals are hoped to be reached by the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

In terms of the longevity of Potato Club, Connor says that as long as they still have student support and people who want to be officers, then the club will continue. Philmon says she will be checking in after her graduation in 2018.