Students are encouraged to drop by room 1210 on Thursdays from 3:00-5:00 pm for the Computer Science Club, new to City High. Club founders Raven Levitt ‘22 and Sullivan Hall ‘22 report that their club intends to provide a supportive structured time to progress the personal coding projects of students. Levitt and Hall are considering incorporating lessons on a variety of coding topics in future meetings. 

“[In Computer Science Club], members can expect the chance to participate in optional opportunities such as game jams and hacking competitions,” Hall said. “We hope to cover topics such as writing efficient code, career resources, and computer science scholarships.” 

Hall stresses the importance of gaining a basic computer science background to succeed in many industries in the future. According to club sponsor Danelle Knoche, computer science is becoming more prevalent in secondary schools. Iowa public K-12 schools must offer a computer science elective next academic year, according to a new statewide mandate House File 2629. The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) will implement introductory computer science courses at the junior high and high school levels. 

“Most professions [in the future] will be looking for some foundation in computer science,” Knoche said. “It’s even starting to be required in fields beyond the typical [fields].” 

The Computer Science Club had its first meeting Thursday, January 13th. Students have so far responded positively to the club’s general atmosphere. 

“Honestly, [the club] is pretty chill,” David Dix ‘22 said. “I plan to use the Computer Science Club to get together with like-minded people to create things that interest me, like video games.”