“Why would you want to run for Student Council? Do they even do anything?”
As a member of the Student Council, I encounter a wide range of views regarding the elected student representatives and executive council as a whole. Some believe that our Student Council legitimately serves a prominent role, but most see it as a gimmick, or nothing more than college application padding. I don’t fully disagree with either sentiment. While the Student Council has the potential to minorly influence certain outcomes within our school, overall, it will never serve the purpose or execute the ideas the candidates advertise.
During campaign time, candidates pushed broad ideas of improvement, including everything from prioritizing mental health to bridging the achievement gap. However unrealistic, overstated campaigning is a requirement because if you do not provide the school with any idea of what you stand for, you’re at an automatic disadvantage.
However, the Student Council simply doesn’t have any chance at doing much about any of those issues. The realistic deliverables cannot compare with those proposed by candidates, yet big, far-fetched ideas sound a lot better than “I will organize a great school dance.” I won’t claim to be different; I’m just as guilty of doing this as all others.
I won’t disagree that the Student Council is a great means to organize school events and happenings, give students an opportunity to practice leadership skills and boost school morale and spirit. However, expecting much more is misguided at best.
From personal experience, I’ve found that, in terms of influencing any sort of real change, being a part of the Student Equity Ambassadors or School Improvement Team provides a much better opportunity. What sets these two avenues apart from the Student Council? They are both organized by the administration, which allows students to truly work in conjunction with the administration. These clubs help in fulfilling their higher goals and are explicitly designed to provide a platform for student voice.
While many still seem to think that, for Student Council to be successful, it must fulfill a similar purpose to organizations such as the aforementioned. I disagree. Student Council isn’t even in the same league. Student Council is not meant to truly govern, which is exactly why its name was changed from “student government” to “Student Council” last year. I’m completely satisfied just making announcements and organizing events and baseline initiatives.
In my eyes, our Student Council is about as good as it’ll get. Although some think that the Student Council should have more true power and more of a meaningful say in school policy, it’s right where it needs to be. Its lack of true impact is by design. Regardless of how high achieving they are, almost every school district leaves administrative duties up to the true leadership, as it should.
While I’ll always be an advocate for student representation and voice, it’s clear to me that Student Council was never designed to be the main driver of that, regardless of the fact that many wish it was.
Photo by Jordan Huang/The ECHO
