A look behind the scenes of the Student Council
During the summer, while most of the student body was busy with activities unrelated to school, a group of seniors dedicated themselves to planning a great school year ahead of time- High School Student Council (STUCO). Through a high school-wide voting process at the end of last school year, the student body elected Raphael Lee (12B) as President, Percy Jang (12A) as Vice President, Jessica Choi (12B) as Secretary, Wesley Ding (12A) as Treasurer, and Yaya Yu (12C) and Rene van Steenbergen (12A) as Historians. In the past months, STUCO members filed a petition on uniforms and planned the annual Shark Fiesta, all with great consideration toward the student body.
After SMIC suddenly announced the change to uniforms at the very end of June, discontent arose. Among the students, many expressed their opinions on uniforms to each other, but nothing was done. Seniors, and many parents, were upset with the way it was all handled as well as the fact that money would be spent on only one school year of uniforms, while the underclassmen had a larger range of concerns. Some thought that uniforms took away part of the SMIC tradition while others were surprised at the lack of involvement the student body was given in this decision.
This is where STUCO members decided to step in and represent the student body by filing a petition against school uniforms. “The week that exams ended, we all knew that the uniforms were coming,” Raphael explained. “They sent [the notice] on the day school was over so we couldn’t show our disapproval. So we had to do it online.” The petition was available for signing for approximately two weeks and received support from over 300 students, teachers, and parents. According to the Student Council President, STUCO members invested time and effort to make sure the petition was the best it could be for an entire week after the last school day (this sentence is unclear). A few members even went as far as staying in school for hours to discuss and type up the petition. The petition was then sent to the administration in late June. Currently, after more than two months since the petition was presented, no reply has been given to the student body and uniforms are still in place. However, this petition is an evident indicator of the ability this year’s Student Council has in representing the student body. Student Council members also hope that this petition process, though not as successful as one had hoped, will improve future communication between school administration and the student body.
On a lighter note, the first school-wide event to be held is the annual carnival—Shark Fiesta. Originally scheduled for September 15th, it was later postponed to the 22nd due to weather. Preparations for the Fiesta by STUCO began in the summer, with the greatest concern being the speakers and lighting. “[Student Council] especially focused on the speakers because we got feedback saying the audio last year was horrible,” Percy said. “Now we are all ready for the Fiesta day with much better audio and lightings!” It wasn’t an easy process either. Percy explained that it was difficult to find a good deal since many vendors demanded an unreasonably high price. Despite difficulties, Shark Fiesta had been successfully planned out in prior to the new school year because of the student council members’ hard work.
The new school year has just begun, but Student Council’s efforts are evident. It is important that the student body does not forget that behind every event, there is hard work put in by those who planned it. With this team of hardworking students representing the student body, many are looking forward to a great year ahead.