This editorial represents the opinions of 14 out of 14 Outlook editors.
Silver Sword first found its roots in honoring Aragon students for their involvement and dedication to the community. To recognize participation in activities that otherwise would not result in a grade or credits, Silver Sword opened the doors to another form of schoolwide honor. That being said, as Aragon continues to undergo changes throughout the years, so too should Silver Sword.
The roles listed need updates. Certain roles, such as the “Senior Citizen Outreach Club”, do not exist anymore. Simultaneously, other categorizations lack specificity; the robotics title “team manager” gives no clue as to whether it refers to the team’s director, one of its six subteam captains or any of the subteams’ other leadership positions. While it most certainly is a hefty task to run the Silver Sword role list by every featured club, revising the list yearly to delete discarded roles and introduce some specificity is entirely possible and would help to streamline the process of point addition. Clubs can provide the information necessary to create these specified roles in their annual application forms.
Furthermore, students often find it challenging to access how many points they have earned. In the past, students were instructed to email the Silver Sword coordinator, with mixed results. This is not the fault of the coordinator, however, as the current system is inefficient. Instead of having to input each student’s points by hand, Silver Sword points could be maintained entirely in a digital format that is easily accessible to both administrators and students, allowing students to review how many points they’ve accumulated at any time. There are a number of means to digitize signatures as well, from websites to email confirmation, meaning that verification from advisors is still factored into the process.
Of the 500 points required for the Silver Sword Award, only 200 can be obtained from activities outside of school and community service. This cap sends the wrong message. Instead of encouraging students to pursue service wherever they can in order make the biggest impact, it discourages them from continuing meaningful work beyond campus.
As opposed to clubs with tryouts or applications, community service opportunities tend to accept all students; yet the 200-point ceiling undermines this accessibility. As such, the Outlook agrees with the plan already being proposed by staff members to create a separate award for community service. Both Aragon involvement and outside community involvement can receive an award without deviating from the spirit of Silver Sword.
Even in school-affiliated organizations, there still exists unaddressed disparities in point rewards. At minimum, a club member may only need to dedicate 30 minutes of lunch time a week for a semester in order to obtain 15 points — but can one truly say clubs like Marine Biology or DECA, which commit to after-hours meetings and events, only receive the same amount of points.
“There’s also differentiation between people who just attend [DECA] meetings and people who are actually attending [DECA] competitions,” said sophomore and DECA secretary Sonia Timothy Chin Hao. “If you’re attending those competitions, there’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation and extra practice … [and] you’re also taking time out of your day to actually attend these competitions. … It’d be great to have an extra category for members who are attending competitions [so] that they gain more points than the regular club member.”
As has already been suggested by staff, and implemented by other schools in our district, a tiered system focusing on distinction between club involvement should be used to better curate point values. Tier 1 clubs that involve meetings outside of school hours, funding or participation in competitions earn more points. Tier 2 clubs — which focus primarily on lunchtime meetings — still call for commemoration, though the points awarded are slightly lower.
The Outlook believes these revisions will make Silver Sword more efficient and fair while still remaining true to its original goals, and that, as Silver Sword is redefined, the concerns of participants should be taken into account.
