By Linda Song
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Monday, May 15, 2006, The OG, news

Student Council executive elections will take place Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the kitchen. All subfreshmen through juniors are eligible to vote for candidates for the three executive offices: president, vice president, and secretary/treasurer.

People will be in the kitchen ready to take your votes. They will require you to check yourself off a list, and then they will give you a ballot to fill out. Results should be counted later in the afternoon.

The candidates for StudCo executive president are juniors Sharajonnie Adams, Dana Al-Qadi, Daisy Hassani, and Marquis Wang. They provided Student Council with brief bios. In addition, The Online Gargoyle asked each candidate to respond to several questions. Here are the results. (The OG will post previews of the other races later tonight.)

Candidate bios

SHARAJONNIE ADAMS
This is my first year at Uni High, and I come from a completely different high school culture than this. This year I transferred from Centennial High School, where I was a representative in Student Council my freshman and sophomore years. As an “outsider” to this school I was able to notice some changes that should be made. I would like to see that this Student Council becomes more interactive with the students and its community. I believe that I am a great candidate, and I hope to bring about positive changes at Uni.

DANA AL-QADI
On a sunny day in September, I walked into the StudCo room on a whim and gave a 30-second “schpeel” about why I wanted to be parliamentarian. I can't vividly remember exactly what I said but the point is, I walked out of that door with the fancy brown gavel (because StudCo parliamentarians get fancy brown gavels, you know). I would like to take my involvement with Student Council a step further by running for executive president. I realize that as this year comes to a close, not only will Uni High be losing the breakdancing of Max Goldberg, but the trio of executive femme fatales that served this year will also depart. Yes, concerned citizens, we can weep and put our locker signs at half mast or we can just kick it up a notch for next year. We can have more social functions and movie nights to simply enjoy being with one another. We can promote and get involved in more community volunteer opportunities to spread the love and do good. We can make sure that the Thursday StudCo meetings are the highlight of the week for those involved because of how much FUN they will be. We can make flowcharts of what ought to be done in order to keep StudCo at the height of the Wheel of Respectability. Perhaps at this point trumpets start playing and flags start billowing, or perhaps at this point you just vote for me. Whatever next year brings the StudCo way, I want to be a part of. In the words of Bow Wow, “Anything given to me, I'm gonna rep.” Because, “You ain't fresh as I'm is.”

DAISY HASSANI
Some of you may not know me, so I'm going to start out by giving a bit of background about myself. I am a junior, and I've been the vice president of my class for the past three years, so I know the ins and outs of how StudCo works. I'm also a member of several Uni clubs and organizations (S4BW, Madrigals, and the Gargoyle, among others), so I have a lot of experience with teamwork. I love working with people and developing new and innovative ideas. I think Student Council has a lot of potential that hasn't been quite reached in recent years. StudCo should be an effective organization that all students feel a part of. If elected, I plan to create a more organized and open Student Council, with clear goals and expectations for the year (i.e., school activities such as movie nights, fund-raisers, and goals for how to spend our money). I'm always open to hearing new ideas, and as president, I would be glad to hear your input on what Student Council should do. I am very organized, responsible, and truly interested in the good of the school, so I hope you vote for me to represent you as Student Council president!

MARQUIS WANG
Hello, I'm Marquis Wang, and I'm running for executive president for Student Council. I would be the best candidate because I am capable, friendly, enthusiastic, and reliable. I am willing to do whatever it takes to help improve the school, and I would bring to Student Council a whole new level of enthusiasm and energy. I promise that I will, if elected, try my hardest to make Student Council a successful, outstanding organization. Thanks to everyone for your time, and I hope you will vote for me.

Questions for the candidates

[Note: We did not receive Dana Al-Qadi's responses in time to post them.]

REASONS FOR RUNNING:

Sharajonnie Adams: Student Council is one of the most powerful organizations in a school. I've talked to some students at Uni, and they have agreed that Student Council's authority hasn't been used to its full potential. I can help with that and besides it's a cool job.

Daisy Hassani: I'm running because I have a lot of ideas for how to improve Student Council. I think that in past years Student Council has not really been as involved in school life as it should be. I've heard a lot of people joke about how Student Council doesn't really do anything. How sad is that? We're not just résumé-padders, people! I would like to change that perception by making StudCo a much more active organization. I think we don't have to wait until X-Week to help charities, and we don't have to wait until Spirit Week to do some fun, quirky things as a school. StudCo should be a way to bring students together for the good of the school. It should also definitely take into account student ideas and suggestions on how to improve. I'm running because Student Council has a lot of potential and needs an effective president who knows how to lead it. I think I'm a great candidate for that position.

Marquis Wang: Along with wanting to contribute to good of the school as a whole, I have a vested interest in making next year the best it can be, as it is my last year here at Uni. And you know what they say, If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

Sharajonnie Adams: Yes! I was Student Council president ‘99-‘00 (fifth grade) at Garden Hills Elementary School and I was a Student Council representative my freshman and sophomore years at Centennial High School.

Daisy Hassani: I have had three years of experience as vice president of my class. I think this is one of the things that really sets me apart from the other candidates. Out of all the candidates for exec president, I'm the one who knows best how Student Council works. As vice president, I have been in a leadership position for the past three years. This makes me highly qualified for the position of executive president. Not to endorse certain candidates, but I also think Krista Olson and Martin Granick and I have worked really well together over the past couple of years as class officers. We could definitely continue that success if we all get elected for executive positions. (Is everyone catching my oh-so-subtle voting suggestion?)

Marquis Wang: I have no previous Student Council experience, but I have leadership experience in school through the subbie buddy program and outside of school, back when I was in Boy Scouts and also helping coordinate events with various organizations such as IYXQA.

I WOULD MAKE A GOOD EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT BECAUSE:

Sharajonnie Adams: I'm a very easy-going, funny person, but I still know how to get things done.

Daisy Hassani: First of all, like I said above, I am very familiar with how Student Council works. I have also been a very responsible and dedicated vice president for the past three years. In the three years I've been on Student Council, I've only missed one or two meetings. I am a very hard worker, and once I start something, I make sure it gets done. This has been especially important this year in planning prom. Prom is a huge undertaking, considering the tons of details that need to be taken care of. I think this year has really helped me to become more organized and has kind of forced me to meet deadlines, which is a great quality for the executive president to have.

Marquis Wang: I am energetic, dedicated, and responsible. More importantly, however, I would be a far more involved and active president than we have had in the past. I feel that previous presidents have been somewhat lackluster, doing what seems like the minimum required. In particular, there can be more schoolwide social events, with better planning for some of them. What we need is a Student Council that can fully address the needs and wants of the student body, and I think that I would be the best candidate to do that.

THINGS I'D DO DIFFERENTLY FROM THOSE IN THE PAST:

Sharajonnie Adams: This is my first year here, so I can't really point out anything that I'd do differently from prior officials.

Daisy Hassani: I have seen past executive presidents who don't worry about deadlines until the last minute. The best example is X-Week. To have an effective X-Week, a president needs to start coordinating fund-raisers with class officers early on, and not wait until a couple weeks before to start planning. The same is true for other events like dances and movie nights. The key to being a successful president is to stay on top of things, and that's what I plan to do differently from some of the previous executive presidents I've worked with.

Marquis Wang: See previous answer.

THINGS I'D DO DIFFERENTLY FROM MY OPPONENTS:

Sharajonnie Adams: Just judging from how well I know my opponents, I think the greatest differences between myself and my opponents are that I'm probably more likely to do two things:

1) Keep it real. This simply consists of telling it like it is and being honest. If you have a booger on your face, I'll tell you, that's just how it is.

2) Assert myself. I'm not afraid to stand up for myself and be heard; that's definitely a MUST for a leadership position.

Daisy Hassani: I'm not really sure what my opponents would do, but I do know that I would attend all the StudCo meetings and be an organized leader. I would also make sure that once I'm at a meeting, I stay focused on what needs to be done. Not to say that StudCo meetings can't be fun that would get really boring really quickly. I just don't want to waste peoples' time during StudCo meetings. After all, our lunch periods are precious, are they not?

Marquis Wang: I doubt that my opponents would be very much different from previous Student Council officers, and I plan to branch out from that legacy and beat a new and hopefully better path.

THINGS I WOULD DO:

Sharajonnie Adams: I'd like to make the school more aware of Student Council; most people don't even know what day they meet on. The students who go to Student Council every Thursday are supposed to represent their class. I would like to make these people more interactive with their classes. Besides X-Week, class fund raising, and coordinating dances, finding out what student concerns are is very important. I'd also like to get Student Council more involved with the community, doing volunteer work or social advocacy/activism. EVERYONE on Student Council will [do] something.

Daisy Hassani: I would like to create a committee early on in the year that would manage Student Council funds. There have been complaints that StudCo is hoarding money. Considering the amount of money we currently have, I think that's a valid concern. This committee would meet regularly to discuss ways to spend our money to help the school. I think we tried to have a committee like this a couple years ago, but it kind of faded out by the end of the year. Money is the big issue for Student Council, and as president, I would like to develop a plan for what to do with it.

I would also try to come up with ways to bring the whole school together (not just limited to movie nights and dances). As a member of Uni's S4BW (Students for a Better World) I am interested in volunteer opportunities. I think Student Council could be a great way to encourage student involvement in volunteer activities. We could plan our own activities or participate in community-wide ones. Either way, I think Student Council would be a good way to involve the entire school in volunteerism.

Marquis Wang: One of the things I plan on doing is trying some new things with fund-raisers, hopefully appealing to the parents too, instead of focusing only on the students. If that is successful, I would then use that money to organize more events for the school, hopefully including volunteer projects, movie nights and other social functions, and dances.

THINGS I WON'T DO:

Sharajonnie Adams: I won't be a tyrant. I know that my ambition is probably a little overwhelming, but I promise not to be Boss Lady from hell.

Daisy Hassani: I won't bring personal matters into StudCo. What I mean is, if I'm in a bad mood or something on a Student Council meeting day, I will not take it out on fellow Student Council members. I've seen that happen in the past, and it's not fair to the other officers. I also won't be some sort of dictator. I would take everyone's opinion into account. I think that's the best way to run an organization.

Marquis Wang: Sit around, be lazy, and do nothing. I plan on being active and involved, contributing as much as possible to the school.

A STATEMENT TO THE COMPETITION:

Sharajonnie Adams: Good Luck! I'll have no hard feelings towards whichever candidate wins because it's the people's choice.

Daisy Hassani: I could be really mean and say I hope they all drop out, but I'm not going to. I wish them all good luck and may the best candidate win!

Marquis Wang: May the best candidate win.