Traditionally, the role of student government is to bring improvement to the school by providing resources for the students, voicing the opinions of the student body, bridging the relationship between administration and the students, and organizing student activities. Although Aragon’s ASB does help plan dances and fundraisers, it ultimately has the potential to do more, if it were given the power and authority to do so.
Through the past year, there have been several instances in which school policy has changed without the consideration of students’ concerns. Because ASB works directly with only activities coordinator Catherine Williamson, there is little communication between the administration and leadership. On the other hand, student officers can also help build a good foundation for ASB by putting in more time and effort. Williamson explains that over the past years, there has been a trend of academically strong students leading the program. At the same time, these students are involved in lots of other extracurricular activities like clubs, internships, and sports. They spread themselves too thin, thus leaving little to no time for student government.
Ideally, the student government should be able to attend meetings with the administration, as well as have the authority to negotiate and have a say in policy-making. At Crystal Springs Uplands School, the student government attends council meetings with the administration. They also meet with students to discuss student feedback and concerns like workload and stress. For example, two years ago, the student government wanted to facilitate the process in which students ask for extensions on work and projects. Through collaboration with the administration, the student government was able to create the Extension Request Form, a formal way of applying for an extension as long as parameters are followed. In addition, at Mercy High School in Burlingame, the student body organization holds forums for students to ask questions and to raise concerns.
After these duties are defined in our student government’s constitution, ASB should implement a way to collect feedback and concerns from the students. Currently, ASB has been trying new methods to get more student involvement with school activities, such as conducting more surveys and setting up a box in the office to collect feedback. One concern is that it’s hard to get genuine answers. To approach the problem, ASB is planning research groups of randomly assigned and selected students to determine the student body’s general opinion. In addition, more serious elections that involve candidate speeches could help select students who are committed to bringing change to the school. Although candidate speeches have not been a part of past elections, they should be integrated into the next election, making it more than just a popularity contest.
Although there are state laws that our student government may not be able to change and that would be best handled by the administration, the ASB should be given the power to work towards bringing change within our school and district and ultimately voicing the opinions of the students.
