Over the summer during quarantine, many students used Instagram to start new organizations or to publicize an existing club from the comfort of their homes. As the pandemic disrupts our daily routines, it is imperative to maintain a sense of community and normalcy through social media. Here are some student group spotlights that have recently appeared on your Instagram feed:

Students for BIPOC (SFB)

Students for BIPOC, a nonprofit organization, spreads awareness about the social injustices people of color face every day. Emily Gu, a junior at SHS, partnered with Lily Kiaei ’22 to create the organization over the summer. 

“After George Floyd’s murder, a rise of performative activism started appearing on social media,” explained Emily Gu, a co-founder of Students for BIPOC. “We wanted to find a way for people to produce tangible impacts and affect real change,” she added. SFB helps students take a more proactive approach toward social activism. Instead of just signing online petitions, SFB has begun to write articles to voice real peoples’ experiences and will be organizing talks and protests soon.

“We chose to use Instagram as our platform… because of the ability Instagram has to connect with people all over the world,” explained Kiaei. Kiaei used social media to engage students from five continents and nine countries and give them a stage to voice their opinions. Although Instagram lacks the formality necessary to communicate a serious message, it has allowed SFB to educate and learn from people with different backgrounds and perspectives. 

Communication online has been going well, but it is difficult to host fundraising events because of the pandemic. “If life [were] ‘normal,’ we would have been able to organize bake sales like many other organizations,” said Gu. “We hope to find creative ways to increase funding for SFB so that we can directly help BIPOC communities,” she added.

To join the organization, contact the Instagram page!

Scarsdale Political Unity Club (YACU)

“Our mission… is to bring bipartisanship, unity, and political engagement to Scarsdale,” explained Ivan Sinyavin ’22, the founder of Scarsdale Political Unity Club. 

The Political Unity Club is a part of Young Americans Coalition for Unity (YACU); YACU strives to empower young adults and create the next generation of United Americans. In the current political climate, where extremism is dissolving the communication between Democrats and Republicans, “ bipartisanship is essential to [bridging] the American divide.” 

When Scarsdale High School temporarily put a stop to new club registrations, Sinyavin moved his club onto social media to publicize their mission and accomplishments. “Instagram is a great tool because… most kids our age have an active account set up and can easily find… our posts,” said Sinyavin. 

Since March, the Political Unity Club has amassed around 20 members and hosted three political discussions about the virus and Black Lives Matter protests. They are currently working on developing a curriculum to teach elementary school students over zoom about the United States. government.

If you are interested in joining the Political Unity Club, please reach out to them at [email protected].  

Scarsdale High School Improv Club

“Improv is a huge part of my life, and I think the club is a space where we can be creative and have fun,” said Samantha Gross ’21, the president of Scarsdale High School’s Improv club. 

Although she has been active in the club for years, Gross recently chose to promote the organization on Instagram and use it to communicate easily with current and prospective members. “The improv club has been a pretty small club, but this year I am hoping to expand it,” Gross added.

COVID has posed many challenges for the organization, as it is nearly impossible to act out scenes in person. Using apps such as Zoom and Instagram, Gross hopes to overcome these difficulties and continue sharing her passion with other students. 

If you are interested in joining the Improv Club, DM them on their Instagram!

In the Bag Scarsdale

In the Bag Scarsdale, a non-profit organization, has been donating school supplies to students in neighboring towns during the pandemic. Because of COVID, “we realized a lot of people in neighboring towns do not have the same resources we do,” explained Justine Karp, a junior at SHS. “Many students rely on their school for these resources, and we took it upon ourselves to find the next best solution and create a club,”  she added. 

Since most students and some adults use Instagram actively, In the Bag chose it as a platform to spread their organization’s message and get donations. “We felt that this was the most popular platform. Having a DM, Instagram story, and polls are effective ways [of] contacting people and getting our followers to interact more, “ said Madison Rosenburg ’22. The organization has also made efforts to engage adults and posted their content on Facebook. 

“We are so fortunate to be able to afford our school supplies,” said Anna Forest ’22. “With our resources, we should collect and donate to our neighbors, who are right next to us and don’t have the same resources,” she added. 

If you would like to make a donation or contact the organization, please DM the club on their Instagram!