When I walked into the restaurant Fig & Ginger in Honolulu, the smell of coffee and warm breakfast filled the air. I glanced around, and admired the cozy decor of plants, jars, and bottles that lined the walls of the restaurant. It didn’t take long before I noticed a long table full of people chatting, and I figured they must be part of the UH Cafe Hoppers Club.
As I approached the long table, one of the members, Masha, greeted me with a warm smile and waved at me to join their table. Once settled in at the table, I introduced myself to the rest of the members and we all ordered our breakfast with the waitress. Masha made me feel welcomed as she shared interesting and funny club event stories. One story was about how one of the members, despite being allergic to cats, hosted a club event at a cat cafe where they suffered uncontrollable sneezing.
After the number of UH clubs dropped to more than half from the COVID era, they have nearly caught back up to pre-COVID levels. 10 years ago, there were 276 clubs at UH, according to the UH Student Life & Development Office. Five years ago, due to the pandemic, that number dropped to 138 clubs.
The Newman Club, one of the oldest clubs at UH, witnessed a decline in membership, having only about 50 registered members five years ago. Today, the club has grown to having about 140 to 150 registered members. The Peer Mentor Ohana Club was another club that witnessed a decline in membership, having only six to seven registered members five years ago. However, the club has now grown to 27 registered members. The total number of clubs have steadily increased after the pandemic, as there are currently 242 clubs at UH.
The Runners at Mānoa club, established three years ago, has about 20 to 40 currently registered members. This number has maintained across all three years of its establishment. The Cafe Hoppers Club, established in the fall of 2025 with about 15 members, currently has 45 registered members.
Fay Pabo, the campus minister of the Newman Club, said that simply seeing the students was what she found most enjoyable about being a campus minister.
“I just love seeing them grow and seeing them doing things and having being a part of this, this place that helps them to grow. Not just in their faith, but as a person, as a young adult,” said Pabo.
Micaiah Cape, the president of the Runners at Mānoa Club, said the people in the club and seeing their growth throughout the club was what brought him the most joy.
“It’s really cool to see, you know, just the growth that comes with it, you know, just people getting more fit,” Cape said.
Emi Obana, the president of the Peer Mentor Ohana Club, said that getting the opportunity to meet people that she may not have met otherwise was what she found most enjoyable about being a part of the club.
“Just meeting so many different kinds of people, from different departments, different backgrounds, different age groups, and that’s been the most fun part and just, you know, learning about everybody’s life, and otherwise, it would be so limited who I would connect on campus,” said Obana.
After chatting with Masha and sharing stories with each other over some breakfast, I couldn’t believe an hour had already passed. To commemorate the day, we took a group selfie outside of the restaurant before departing our separate ways. Although I didn’t know what to expect, I learned that Cafe Hoppers is a great social club that allows people to explore new places and meet new people that they may not have met otherwise. Clubs at the University of Mānoa not only bring joy to those who join them, but also help to build a sense of community and belonging.
