Ohio State’s SpongeBob SquarePants Club meets to discuss the show and its effects on pop culture. Credit: Kayla Kendall
Ohio State’s SpongeBob SquarePants Club takes “F is for friends who do stuff together” to a whole new level.
The student organization, under new leadership for the 2023-24 school year, is looking to cement its place on campus. Offering a relaxed environment where fans of “SpongeBob SquarePants” can form friendships, the club analyzes the hit animated television series’ cultural impacts on our generation, according to its Ohio State Student Organization webpage.
Kayla Kendall, a third-year in sociology and the club’s president, said although the club was founded around 2021, it never really took off. That’s why when it came time to elect new leadership, Kendall was eager to take over.
“It wasn’t super big or popular on campus and not many people knew about it,” Kendall said. “Once we inherited it, our goal was to increase our exposure on campus. I think we are figuring it out.”
Kendall — along with vice president Alicia Cave, a third-year in food business management, and secretary of recruitment Jayden Kendall, a third-year in linguistics — said after witnessing low meeting attendance throughout the spring 2023 semester, they were itching to bring new ideas to the group.
SpongeBob SquarePants Club has already hosted two meetings this semester, with many more in the works, Kayla Kendall said.
“We do different things every meeting,” Kayla Kendall said. “We are trying to come up with some ideas to keep everyone engaged, we don’t just want to only watch episodes.”
The first meeting was held Sept. 14 and saw club members collaborate to rank every episode of the iconic cartoon, Kayla Kendall said.
“Our first meeting, we had the really fun idea of creating a tier list of the episodes,” Kendall said. “We had everybody kind of duke it out and talk amongst themselves, and then we held a vote.”
She said the second meeting, convened Sept. 28, was a craft night where attendees could recreate their favorite characters with miscellaneous materials.
While the club’s usual meetings have been quite lively thus far, Kayla Kendall said its leaders are also hoping to organize at least one large-scale event this academic year. If approved by the Ohio Union Activities Board, a screening of “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” might come to fruition, Kayla Kendall said.
Cave said planning and executing a movie night would be an exciting step forward for the club.
“We are still workshopping things, but we are hoping to do something big like that soon,” Cave said.
Sheer nostalgia initially fuelled Cave’s decision to join the club, she said.
“I have watched the show since I was little, and I feel like most of our generation grew up watching it too,” Cave said. “I also thought it would be a fun group of people to hang out with.”
Cave said she thinks SpongeBob SquarePants Club’s laid-back atmosphere is what draws people in. This environment aligns with the continued growth of casual clubs on campus, Cave said.
“I feel like when clubs have strict schedules and requirements, there will be some point in the semester where the pressure will make them not want to go,” Cave said. “Our attendance is not mandatory, and students can come whenever they feel like it.”
Jayden Kendall agreed.
“Everything in college is so serious, you might as well have something in your life worth looking forward to that isn’t a huge midterm or internship,” Jayden Kendall said. “Having chill things to look forward to that [help] decompress is really important for students especially.”
Kayla Kendall said all students are welcome at the SpongeBob SquarePants Club’s meetings and events. More information about getting involved with the organization can be found via the club’s Instagram page or GroupMe chat.
