Hannah Bevis
Contributing Writer
While it may be a less known club on campus, the students in German Club are very proud of their organization.
“We’re a little disorganized, but very passionate,” said German Club president Matt Havey.
Though the name of the organization suggests that this club is strictly a language club, students do not have to be a German major/minor or have studied in Germany to be a member of the club.
However, students will learn a lot about the German culture by doing so. For students who are in a German class, it gives them an extra opportunity to speak German in an informal setting outside of the classroom.
The club has a small regular following, around 15-20 students, but they had 50 or more show up for their popular bratwurst barbecue.
Their other events include hosting weekly coffee conversation hours, traveling to the Bavarian lodge, excursions to restaurants and cafes downtown Chicago, and taking part in the International Fair, where all other international clubs come together to dance and share their experiences in other cultures.
“But the club isn’t just about hanging out. It’s about challenging your own beliefs and values,” said Havey. “We look at German culture that focuses on different issues.”
The club took off in 2005 with the arrival of Dr. Gregory Wolf from St. Louis University.
Wolf, who is also the founder of the German Honor Society, helps organize some of the larger events like a two-part colloquium held this term.
However, he stresses that the club is very much for the benefit of the students and the community as a whole.
“We have an academic goal, and we try to provide the campus and community with a better understanding of German culture,” said Wolf. “Both groups are trying to foster awareness of German culture and language.”
Wolf, the only German professor on the College’s campus, also tries to bring in different areas of studies besides strictly German for a more interdisciplinary focus.
Some of the German Club’s previous events have included the combination of art, religion and history at their recent colloquium, “Religious Oppression to Suppression: German Traditions,” where they invited a German playwright that held his film’s U.S. premiere on the College’s campus.
“We stress an interdisciplinary approach at North Central College, and so it’s not just an extension of German class, but it supports and augments it,” said Wolf. “It helps students become more integrated on campus, and it also contributes to what it means to have an undergraduate education.”
