Slug Club: Discussion [TERM XIII-VI]

[djmayhem-aubrey.livejournal.com]

Activity: Slug Club Discussion: Criteria for Slug Club Good or Bad?
Points: Long debate: Participation 10pts, Additional comment: 2pts
Deadline: Saturday, April 11 @ 11:59 PM EST.

Details: We all know how Slughorn chooses the members of his club. Now we face an interesting dilemma: some people think this is terribly selective. Some people think this is a good thing. This is not a debate. This is a discussion on what everyone thinks about Slughorn's criteria, and if there is anything you would personally do differently while keeping the ultimate goals of giving the Slug Clubbers' decent job prospects intact.




CLUB LEADER NOTE: Since I feel it needs to be said in light of some of the bollocks going on in other posts, if you cannot discuss something without getting your feelings hurt, this is probably NOT the activity for you. That said, do not personally attack anyone else for their opinions. We all have them, we are all entitled to them. I'll be watching the post and making sure things don't get out of hand.

Interested in social networking? Join the Slug Club today!

Comments

[rhye.livejournal.com]

I approve of the way Ginny was included in the club: even though her family is poor and not wizarding elite, her skills were so great that Slughorn saw great promise in her future and figured that people would benefit from knowing her. The fact that this is a criteria over the selection of someone like Draco, who is less talented but has better connections, is refreshing. It sounds bad, but if people are chosen on their own merits, it's almost like an honors class or club, or a honor society.

Jess//Gryffindor

[et-tu-lj.livejournal.com]

I have no issue with Slughorn's criteria, because we see in canon that he does not make his decisions based on purely external factors, like social class or wealth. Although that can influence it somewhat, someone with merit but w/o connections (like Ginny) can make it in, while some with connections (like Malfoy) did not. That said, I think I need to know a bit more about some of the people in the Slug Club to know whether I agree or not. For example, what did Blaise Zabini do to earn entrance? I think mainly, I don't object to his club, because I don't think it matters. There have always been clubs that are just about social networking, and Slughorn is at least up front about it. I personally wouldn't have been a part, because it's not my thing. But it's also the only ongoing event in the entire series that includes all FOUR houses, and for that I love the Slug Club.

Kimberly / Ravenclaw

[the-gubette.livejournal.com]

Above all else, Slughorn valued people who he felt would be successful in the future, because he wanted to be able to influence them (or at least make people think he could influence them). I don't think that Slughorn particularly cared for any of the students in his club, beyond how they could benefit him. That's why he asked the children of influential members of Wizarding society, and the occasional extremely skilled non-connected person.

For this reason, he had to make the Slug Club look exclusive, because who would want to join an "exclusive" club that allows just anyone in? If you think about it, it's a lot like the popular crowd in high school. The exclusivity is what makes people popular. Without it, no one cares. While I may not necessarily agree with it, I can understand why Slughorn felt the need to be so selective. It also gives a man with a Napoleon complex the opportunity to exert control over helpless students, but I digress.

Samantha-Hope//Slytherin

[pasta-and-pepsi.livejournal.com]

As a trainee teacher I have particuarly strong feelings on the points of selection.

Just as I feel it is wrong to select children based on ability to attend any particular school, leaving those unselected with the opinion that they are unworthy and shall never amount to anything, the same is true for selecting people for particular clubs, leaving those outside the circle feeling unworthy of reaching particular goals and having to fight even harder for the same jobs just because others have a better name behind them than they do.

So no. I don't agree that selection is a good thing. I think that those with high enough ambitions to succeed and want a decent job is all that it takes - and so the only requirement to join such a club, should be someone wanting to. Give all those wanting to succeed a chance.

[accountingwitch.livejournal.com]

Slughorn's criteria: can this person give me things in the future?

Slughorn described the people and gifts he received from these people, and it shows in the next batch of Slug Club members: Ginny, with possible hexing/Quidditch connections; Blaise, the lone son of a witch who is now extremely wealthy; Cormac, who won't shut up about his Quidditch potential.

I can see why Arthur Weasley was slighted: his interest in Muggle things wasn't particularly beneficial to Slughorn. Lucius may have been included because of this wizarding connections, but Draco's future is uncertain.

It's purely self-serving. I think he has little personal interest in how these people develop aside from how it helps him.

Elaine//Ravenclaw

[andromeda0604.livejournal.com]

It seems that since The Slug Club is really a personal club and not a "Hogwarts" specific club the criteria can be whatever the professor wants it to be. I feel that if it were a "Hogwarts" club or activity sponsored by the school like in a muggle school (ie. yearbook club, glee club, or german club) it should be more inclusive and promote more student cohesion.


Andromeda//Hufflepuff

[silveredaccents.livejournal.com]

I think that Slughorn is a slightly deluded (or more than slightly depending on your criteria and perspective) character who wants what he wants. He created the Slug Club to help himself. That much is easy to see, but Slytherin rationales are rarely so simple. He created a club which would help those invited as well.

Do I like his criteria? I'm not sure. I'll be honest and say if I ended up invited, I'd like it. If not, I'd be irritable at his criteria. I've always wanted to belong, and anyone who makes me feel that way automatically has an edge in my life. Now, it doesn't rule me the way it did when I was younger, but it is something I will never fully escape.

Certainly, in less charged times, I imagine the Slug Club would be very positive for most if not all individuals involved. After all, it's a win-win. You get those with influence to see those with talent and then get to claim rights to having introduced them later. Everyone wins.

Kimberly ~ Slytherin

[rhye.livejournal.com]

Please do not delete this comment before April 13, 2009. It is part of the MCS Egg Hunt!

[valkyrie-lisa.livejournal.com]

My view of the Slug Club is that it's not so much an actual club as it is a gathering of, I don't know, teacher's pets, I suppose. In other words, it's not like The Elks or Boy Scouts or Masons where there are strict, written rules that must be obeyed and therefore those organizations can be held accountable by the public for their actions (such as when they refuse membership to certain demographic populations). It's more like an informal social gathering, though certainly with networking in mind, but with only one person deciding who's invited or who's not. As such, I think it's fair for Slughorn to invite whomever he wants. His requirements may be arbitrary or trivial, but I think that's his right.

Lisa//Slytherin

[malfoymercy.livejournal.com]

I like the way Slughorn thinks. He seems to have a sixth sense about knowing which individuals will be famous, intelligent, or useful in the future. He almost sees possibilities and then acts on it, knowing it will most likely be to the benefit in the future. Also, I like how refreshing it is that those chosen to be in the Slug Club are not simply picked on their social standing or the people they know, no matter how useful that may be. If one is smart or outstanding on their own, they should be set aside and above others, they have earned it. I approve.

Becky//Slytherin