Almost every student, at some point, has participated or will participate in an extracurricular activity, be it athletic, academic, artistic, or altruistic. Through these activities, students learn valuable life skills and build lifelong friendships. However, a large number of students do not receive these many benefits because they do not participate in extracurricular activities. For this reason the principal has decided to impose at least one extracurricular activity on all students. I absolutely agree with this decision because extracurricular activities increase academic performance, keep students out of trouble, and improve social and mental health. First, extracurricular activities increase students' academic performance in myriad ways. Students who are struggling in their classes have the opportunity to receive remediation that may not be possible due to the time constraints of a school day. Plus, because they have time to get help from teachers after school, they have more individualized instruction and care that a class of 30 students simply doesn't allow. However, for students who already excel academically, some extracurricular activities offer high-achieving students a chance to take their performance to the next level. Through activities like Mathcounts, Technology Student Association, Debate, and Model United Nations, students who are already doing well in school have the chance to compete with other advanced students in competitions that test their critical thinking skills and speed in skills learned at school. Furthermore, for all students, some extracurricular activities provide incentives for doing well in school; The National Junior Honor Society, for example, recognizes students with......half of the paper......so they can stay after school to avoid the unsafe situation at home and take their attention away from the situation by staying involved in activities they truly enjoy doing. Because students who participate in extracurricular activities have this increased social well-being and protection from risky environments, they are much less likely to suffer from depression and would have better mental health overall. In this way, mandatory extracurricular activities benefit students' social and mental health. The principal has decided to impose at least one extracurricular activity for all students. I absolutely agree with this decision because extracurricular activities increase academic performance, keep students out of trouble, and improve the social and mental health of the student body. Because extracurricular activities benefit students in so many ways, this mandate should be enforced.