Is learning kanji hard?

I really want to know because I'm learning kanji and japanese traditions for a club I'm starting.

Yes as learning the right order of the strokes is not easy and there are thousands of Kanji to learn. Usually one starts with Katakana and Hiragana.

Yes, because of the sheer number of them and all the different readings a single kanji can have in different words. I have been learning kanji for many years and still feel like I have a long way to go.

I can read perhaps 1,500 kanji but would still struggle with a lot of newspaper articles.

In my opinion, it's only hard if you make it hard...
If you have the enthusiasm and dedication, it can be a very fun and of course, rewarding experience...
The key thing is to not just learn off the meaning of each kanji...
But learn the meaning, the different readings, how to write it and a few compound words it is used in before you move on to the next kanji...

Yes its difficult. I even have Chinese friends who know how to write Chinese, and they still have problems with Japanese Kanji.

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The key thing is to not just learn off the meaning of each kanji...
But learn the meaning, the different readings, how to write it and a few compound words it is used in before you move on to the next kanji...
Everyone has different ways of learning, there are people who will tell you that learn the meaning first, then the readings later.
OP just has to adapt what works for them.

Once you learn it you have to keep at it in my opinion. EG actually use it, harder if you're not in Japan.
Learn some, but not using it, then you'll forget. Like math formulas.
The kanji I remember the most are the ones I see and use everyday. But with all the different readings and meanings, its also alot of memorization. My find feels like its going to implode sometimes, though that Nintendo DS kanji game is fun to play.

with 'sandman'.
that's definitely the best way to learn kanji.when i first started i really wasn't sure how to go about it,but i just learnt grade by grade, and with each kanji i learnt the way to write it,its meanings, and words it is commonly used in.
that way, not only do you learn kanji properly, but your vocabulary also increases:)

I'm going to go against the grain and say 'no'.

It depends on you. I'm one of those freaks of nature where I see something and remember it forever. If you're like that, or even close, plain memorization is a piece of cake - memorizing Kanji symbols is far easier than learning grammar, anyway.