X-C was once a club in Miami High. Never heard of it? The X-C club went by many names: X club, Exchange club and Junior Exchange club.  Ever since its disappearance in the early 2000’s, the club was simply forgotten in Miami High history. Why was it forgotten? Does anyone still remember? This is what happened to the X-C club. 

What was the X-C club? 

    To understand what happened, it is necessary to know who they were. The club was established in 1952 and participated in school events and activities. According to Ms. Rivero, activities director of Miami High, when the 1980’s arrived, they were completely non-existent as they did not participate in any activities during that time.      

      However, they came back into existence in the 90’s stronger than ever. The club was very selective. In order to get in, students had to do something called a rush. A rush meant you were not officially part of the club, but club members allowed the rush applicants around them. Rush applicants had to take orders from club members. If they did not pass the rush period, they were considered “not fit” for the club.  

    X-C developed a huge rivalry with Key Club. It was based on who was better—as X-C club had all the “cool” people and athletes of all sports , making this the ultimate club. X-C dominated all the events they had at the school. However, the X-C club got into some trouble. 

The Rivalry 

    The rivalry between X-C club and Key club was one of, if not the biggest, rivalries in school history. Nowadays, rivalries between clubs are much tamer to prevent any fights from happening in or out of school. Back in the old days, this was not the case. According to Ailene Morales, former Secretary of X-C club and Miami High Class of 2000, each club had its own hallways so they could advertise their club without any interference from each other.  The X-C club chose the hallway right next to Key Club’s hallway.  

   On Jersey days, an event where students in a sport or club would wear their jersey, the two clubs would steal each other’s jersey as a consolation prize for their club. The unfortunate students who had their jerseys taken would never get them back. 

    Also, according to Ailene Morales, there was an event that happened out of school which shows how serious the rivalry between X-C and Key was. At a car wash, two club members (X-C and Key) got into a brawl. The police even arrived to stop the fight. What was strange about this rivalry is that most of them were friends with each other. However, they were so dedicated to their club, they would practically do anything for it. This explains the whole “rush” initiation that every club would do. They would test you to see if you were committed to a club member’s order as this meant that you were dedicated to the club.  

The Initiation 

     Now, just because you completed the rush and were worthy of being in the club does not mean you were really “in” the club. The initiation stage was held in complete secret of the school. No one was allowed to tell what or how it happened. According to Mr. Victor Cuevas, 12th Grade Counselor and former Miami High student, and Ailene Morales, students who passed the initiation were specifically told after the initiation to never speak about what happened.  

    This is how it happened. Stage 1 – Hell Night: There was a dedicated night called “Hell Night” where the worthy student would go through “hell.”: public humiliation, dares, embarrassing moments on the club member’s command and if you passed Hell Night, you made it to Stage 2 – Initiation Day.  

    The rush applicants first met at a club member’s house, where they blindfolded the applicants and took them into an alumni’s car that would drive them to a secret location where the applicants were then paddled. Paddling was the action of getting a wooden paddle and smacking someone in the butt.  

   Some people believe the girls had it easy. The girls had to dance the with a live sardine in their mouth while singing the macarena. They were not paddled at all. The boys were paddled—and hard. They were in the woods and no one was allowed to know who was paddling them or where they were getting paddled.  

    The paddles were home-made, and some had beer bottle caps glued onto the paddle with the pointy parts out, so it hurt more. The boys who were getting paddled would take both their pants and underwear off so it would hurt more. They were paddled during the whole initiation. The aftermath of the paddling was so bad, the victims could not sit in a seat for almost a month due to how sore they were in the butt.  

    After the paddling, the applicants were then taken back to the house they were originally picked up from. In the house, they finally took off their blindfold and got congratulated for passing the initiation. The applicants were then asked what jersey number they wanted and what their nickname would be. They made it in the brotherhood. The applicants had become X-C club members.  

The Downfall 

     In the 1990’s, A-C (Athletic Club) and Key Club were amongst the biggest clubs who also did the initiation, but the school never found out about this. In fact, something bigger did. Miami Dade County Public Schools began to crack down on these initiations. This is the reason you don’t see the initiations going on today.  

    Also, a student claimed he had been paddled so bad, he took it to the faculty. According to Victor Cuevas, some students were even in the hospital because of the unreal beatings they would take while getting paddled. This, to the MDCPS, was a liability.  

    Plus, according to Ailene Morales, X-C was listed as a gang by the Miami Dade Police Department after a big fight took place around 2005. It was, of course, between Key Club and X-C club. This fight was so bad, nobody dares talk about it. X-C was then permanently banned from the school and practically erased from school history. The only thing you can really get about X-C is by looking through old yearbooks.  

    X-C was among the top clubs at the time with A-C, Pan-Am, Little Women, Little Men, and of course Key Club. The reason X-C was banned is because they were a bad look for the school. Yet, the Kiwanis (Key Club) are big in Miami. They are a national organization. Ailene Morales believes that Key Club got saved by the Kiwanis Organization, yet she does not know the context of the situation. This is the reason one of the biggest clubs in Miami High history was completely forgotten.