STUDents with COmmitment issues
The campaign season has started at Uni. Candidate posters, which claim that (insert name) is, in fact, the best would-be president (or vice president or secretary/treasurer) out there, crowd the walls. You are bound to have at least one candidate badger you about whom you are voting for, and then list the reasons, like more fun class activities, for why you should vote for them.
While this is all fine and dandy, and relatively entertaining, I still think Student Council elections are tainted. Even at Uni, they are a popularity contest. If not that, a candidate wins because he was the only boy running against two girls, or vice-versa.
Furthermore, when the elected candidate becomes the president of the Class of 2008, he or she proceeds to do close to nothing. Trust me, I would know, I was on Student Council my subbie and freshmen year.
Especially in the lower grades, Student Council is merely a designated Thursday lunch meeting, coupled with the occasional planning for a dance, for three elected students, and nothing more.
Sure, junior and senior year, things get a little tougher with planning for prom (props to Micah Berman, Ranny Ma, and Shara Esbenshade — I know you’ve been working your tails off) and the senior trip, but still our class leaders make no real important decisions.
Sometimes it seems that “Let’s Plan a Dance Committee” would be a more accurate name for Student Council.
What decisions am I talking about? What changes?
Well, yesterday during Breakfast with the Principal, we all had to fill out fliers. One question was, “What would you change about Uni?”
That’s a great place to start. The new leaders of our school should ask Ms. Patton if they could take a peek at the filled-out questionnaires, or send out fliers on their own.
Some things that the student body wants to see change? Create a Spanish program that starts subbie year. Challenge SFAC about the “no grinding policy.” Offer Chinese (WITHOUT cutting Japanese). Include independent studies in the 300-minute requirement. Or, reexamine the proper enforcement of the 30-minute homework policy.
[Note: I got these responses by briefly chatting with students in the lounge.]
Right now, Student Council is really just a figurehead government. Their power is totally and completely unrealized.
So, before the next school year gets kicked off, I challenge all of the new leaders of University Laboratory High School to first ask their peers what they want to see changed, and then agitate to make those changes.
You have great potential, and you have some great executive leaders (Berman, Suran Yoo, and Esbenshade), to guide you. All of you Student Council members should remember that you are a part of a real government with real power.
— Andrea Park
Comments
Yea, I agree that student council isn’t that active (that is, speaking for myself).
However, something that holds back projects and experiments is that everything has to be planned 2 weeks in advance.
I know, it’s whoevers fault for not planning stuff out…but spontaneity can be a really effective tool. Like when you get a great idea, you don’t want to wait weeks to get it started.
Another thing is if you want to send out class/school emails, it usually takes more than a day for it to go through the filtering process.
There are things that restrict StudCo from doing crazy/amazing projects, but I think the main reason (or my main reason at least) is that no one seems to want to be at those Thursday StudCo meetings and it’s not a very happy atmosphere to suggest ideas.
Posted by: Alan Liang | May 10, 2007 12:56 PM
I think you guys just all really miss me.
Posted by: Kumars Salehi | May 10, 2007 6:59 PM
Andrea many of the ideas which you have mentioned that should be changed are much more complicated.
I think that there are two separate issues that you fail to see.
One is what each individual class does on their own. For instance, class trips, movie nights, dances and other class activities are the sole responsibility of that class. Stud Co as a whole does not get too involved with these stuff.
Another type of issue that Stud Co can deal with is the kind that effects the whole school. And the issues you have mentioned all fall into this catagory. These type of issues are expontentially more complicated and it takes the entire school to make a change. Something that is good for students may not suit the teachers.
I think Stud Co has the responsiblity of bringing these issues on the table and seeing how feasible they are to deal with. And this may take more time and effort than you think. For instance, look at the honor code. It took also an entire year to approve it and I think that is by far less of a challenge than some of the changes you want to see happen.
Also you have to ask yourself have you done enough to want these changes. How seriously are you considering these changes? Or this more of a if I had a magic wand then I would change this about my school type of thing.
Anyways, I don’t think it is fair for you to criticize Stud Co without doing your part and seriously thinking about the process of change.
O by the way, great blog.
Posted by: ranny | May 10, 2007 7:46 PM
I think it’s only fair to point out that Andrea was in fact Ranny’s predecessor as VP of our class.
Posted by: Kumars | May 11, 2007 4:52 PM