Boys Who Code Club Disbanded

The Boys Who Code Club, created just a week ago, was disbanded after members realized the multitude of similarities between their club and the rest of the computer science clubs in the country. Founded by freshman Som Kim, the club was created to empower boys to pursue computer science fields and had several dedicated members.

“We felt left out after seeing the multitude of girls-only computer science clubs and thought, ‘What was so special about them?’” Khan said. “If girls can have their own computer science clubs, why can’t we? We were shocked to learn that many computer science clubs already foster this mentality in their male population.”

After Boys Who Code was disbanded, former members joined other computer science clubs in hopes that they could continue to feel empowered against the overwhelming female majority; these clubs include the Hacking Club, the Coding Club, and the Cybersecurity Club. Some, however, have protested against Boys Who Code’s closing by joining Girls Who Code, a Stuyvesant club dedicated to teaching girls how to code. While seniors and co-Presidents Sarah Yoon and Stephanie Yoon are completely fine with it, the male members feel oppressed in the female-saturated environment.

“I didn’t understand why all the girls were so intimidated while I was there,” an anonymous male Girls Who Code member said. “These girls are all going to be welcomed to STEM fields with open arms while guys would be rejected. Reverse sexism is a thing, and to say that guys have it much easier than girls in STEM fields is completely false.”

The Student Union (SU) was saddened to learn that the newly-chartered club would be disbanding after only a week. “We wasted $700 on this club to buy new laptops for the boys,” SU Vice President Tahseen Chowdhury said. “This funding could have gone to the ‘I Have Created This Club to Look Good For College Club’ to buy new traffic cones instead.”

Still, Khan is dedicated to his cause, wanting to make sure that all men fight against societal pressure to go into a certain field and pursue something they are interested in. “I’m going to create a Boys Who Engineer Club soon,” Khan said. “That doesn’t exist yet, right?”