What can death teach us?

An April Fools’ meeting about mortality

The 968th meeting fell on April 1st, but there was nothing foolish about the theme. Poornima, who also served as Table Topics Master, had set the tone days earlier in the group chat: “Death is the shadow of life that we ignore. But as we prepare to honour the loved ones we’ve lost, is there something we can learn from their final moments? Is there an art to dying?”

The meeting came just two days after Poornima won both the International Speech Contest and the Evaluation Contest at the Division H Mid-Year Contest, a double victory that had the group chat buzzing with congratulations all weekend.

Prepared speeches

Susie opened with “One Busy Working Week,” exploring different communication styles. Eureka delivered her Ice Breaker “Just Flow,” introducing herself to the club for the first time. Enya closed the prepared speeches with “To Lay or To Fight,” using storytelling techniques to create a light, easy-going atmosphere.

Behind the scenes

The meeting required some last-minute role shuffling. Toto stepped in as General Evaluator on the day, and Stella sorted out the Timer arrangement so the agenda could hold together. Max designed the poster for this meeting, which drew praise in the group: “本期是 MAX 做的海报哟～特别棒！”

The club also had reason to celebrate beyond the meeting itself. Stella announced that SZTM had hit 9 points in the Distinguished Club Program: “我们完成了 DCP[庆祝].”

After the meeting

The theme lingered. Max reflected the next morning: “死亡和 AI 教会了我：前半生的内卷没有任何意义.” The conversation kept going from there, with members sharing what mortality and the rise of AI had taught them about how to live.