Student Leadership Elections
Here’s everything you need to know about student leadership elections coming up this spring:
Elections will be held in late April of this year, 2023. Anyone is allowed to run based on Ms. Skiles and the senior representatives’ thoughts. For a class officer, there are four positions to run for: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The class President is responsible for things such as morning announcements, main involvement in assemblies, and the spread of ideas to administration and staff. The class Vice President is second in line, usually carrying the responsibilities of making some important decisions, and communicating with the ASB Vice President on school events and activities. Class secretaries tend to help record information, such as spirit counts/points, as well as helping plan upcoming events. The class treasurer oversees the financial aspect of their class, including keeping track of the class budget and creating ways to fundraise. Anyone who wants to be a part of leadership, or loses during elections, becomes a class representative, who helps pitch ideas for activities and events.
Let’s talk about the whole process. One of the first things you do is write mini essays on given topics. Ms. Skiles will review these essays, and, when approved, you will have an interview with Ms. Skiles and some of the senior class officers and representatives. After you are found to be a suitable candidate, you will begin the campaigning process. In prior elections, you were allowed to put up six large posters and as many flyers as you were able to get your hands on. This year, however, rules have changed. You are allowed to make one large poster and 15 flyers, so choose your spots wisely. After campaigning, the election process will wind down with a speech and voting. Google forms will be sent out by Ms. Skiles for this.
Student senate, also run through leadership, is a time when students meet once a month to discuss problems within the school and bring them to administration for further handling. Emails will be sent out next school year for meetings. They are year-round, on the first Monday of every month. At the beginning of the year, more information should be given out about meetings.
One of the most looked-up things about leadership is the multiple retreats throughout the year. These retreats are meant for leadership students to see how other schools run their leadership classes, evaluate themselves, and make changes where they best deem fit. And though you will have to miss some class time, they are great opportunities to get to know your classmates better, and work on some cooperative skills that are needed in life. Another important aspect to leadership is their participation in our school community. They are in charge of assemblies, both serious and funny, and help make school easier for incoming freshmen and new students. They do this through orientation at the beginning of the year by giving a tour of the school.
I spoke to a few of our leadership students and asked them what they thought was important about having a leadership class. Luanna Huang, our sophomore class president said, “Leadership does not require you to be outgoing; there is a job for everyone, even behind the scenes.” She elaborated to say that many students are afraid to join leadership because they don’t want to have to be in the spotlight, but that isn’t how leadership completely works. You don’t necessarily have to be a class officer to pitch new ideas towards projects and activities. Olivia Rankin, our senior class president, also spoke about being involved. “There are a lot of opportunities to help out in the school as long as you have a passion for it.” In leadership, everyone knows everyone so, though there are some heated moments, it’s a family in that classroom. They all work together to make sure our school runs smoothly and how it’s supposed to, which we have to give major props to them for. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite candidate!
