Throughout Kenwood Mall, the sharp slaps of paper hitting the ground echo through the air as students gather around on the pavement. They lift an arm above their heads and slam down a square tile of folded paper onto their opponent’s tile, hoping to flip it with a satisfying strike.
Rites of May, which was held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 31, gave U-High clubs an opportunity to spread their missions to a wider audience.
The sounds of ddakji, a traditional Korean game popularized in the 20th century, were brought to Rites of May by the Asian Students’ Association. A goal of ASA’s booth was to widen the community’s perception of Asian culture, member Cece Bernstein said. Their booth included ddajki and other activities, such as origami.
“We wanted to spread Asian culture to a bunch of lower schoolers and their parents to kind of bring awareness to the diversity of the continent,” Cece said.
Two clubs hoped to diversify the community’s view of science.
Entomology Club members showcased various insects and included a craft station, where students could create their own insects out of egg cartons and paint. Venice Czarnecki-Lichstein, a club member, hopes the booth educates the community on how science is not all under the umbrella of chemistry or physics.
“Here’s this study of these specific little insects, and I think that it’s really important for kids to understand what science can look like,” Venice said.
Women in STEM’s booth featured an engineering challenge that asked participants to create the tallest possible structure out of mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The goal of the activity was to promote WiSTEM’s message of giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy STEM-focused activities, president Sophie Li said.
Beyond community awareness, the Hindu Students Club’s booth focused on raising money for Yogaswami Hindu Girl’s Home in Sri Lanka. Visitors were asked to donate $5 to the cause in exchange for a chance to spin a prize wheel, with all prizes provided to HSC by the Kauai Hindu Monastery. So far, the club’s GoFundMe page has raised over $2,000 since 2024, just under 50% of its goal.
Another booth focused on making voting and politics accessible to students of all ages. The Junior State of America held a mock election, asking students to vote on their favorite from a ballot of candies.
“We kind of just want to make voting and learning about politics fun,” president Kathryn Bean said, “which is what we do in our normal club meetings. We wanted to target it toward younger children.”