What is Student Council?

“A lot of times, Student Council is managing problems behind the scenes before they become big issues. And so they don’t get a lot of credit.” said Ms. Moyer-Shad, the Director of Student Leadership Development. This proved to be brutally true when most students could not speak confidently about Student Council. Nevertheless, Student Council meets every Monday to discuss the important, current issues of our school while advocating for the student body.

The Student Council members answered common questions about their current status in Student Council:

What is Student Council’s main goal for this year?

“They’re talking largely about student morale, and a sense of belongingness. So that’s, that is school spirit that is making sure no one falls through the cracks.” said Ms. Moyer-Shad

“An idea that I’m proposing is that Student council obviously represents the student body on campus, but what if they went outside of the campus and did some community service and all of those things.” said Su Ertekin-Taner ’22, the Student Council President. (Disclaimer: Ertekin-Taner is on Bugle staff)

“So I think Student Council this year is definitely focusing on connectivity, because I think that with COVID, not coming back to normal, but at least a little bit like on the up, with people going online last year, we lost that interconnectivity with the school.” said Ander Kelly ’22, the Senior Class President.

How can students stay up to date on Student Council business?

“So, any students can come to a Student Council meeting, they just don’t have a vote. But they can come and talk and raise a point or ask a question. We meet every Monday during activities, right now and McGehee because of COVID,” said Ms. Moyer-Shad.

“We post our minutes on the San Jose students page, under Resources, there’s a folder called Student Council minutes. So if you’re ever wondering what your Student Council is up to, you can go ahead and check that,” said Sophie Grace Posick ’22, a senior class representative and the Vice President of the Student Council.

What is Student Council currently working on?

Chris Lee ’23 brought forth an unfair point of the Student Council Constitution. “He thought that someone who has been punished for maybe an honor council offense, very early on in their high school career, should not hold them back,” said Ertekin-Taner. After voting, the decision was that the Honor Code will not hold a student back in Student Council after a rehabilitation period.

“We’re meeting with Ms. Denmark for the dress code. We’re just trying to clarify what is and what isn’t allowed, so people don’t get in trouble for things that they just don’t know,” said Posick.

“There are definitely plans to connect more with the student body and get them more involved and really hear more from them, what they want from us because that’s the whole point of Student Council,” said Gabe Coleman ’24, the Sophomore Class President.

What is a message you would send to the student body?

“I think I want people to talk to me more. I want our class to be a whole. I feel like it’s pretty separated. There’s like a lot of different people. So I just want people to talk to me and feel like they can talk to me. I’m a pretty open person. I’m a nice person. I just want to be a safe place for anyone,” said Anika Pillai ’23, a Junior Class Student Representative.

“I would just say Student Council’s working for you, even if it’s behind the scenes. Know we’re doing our best and we want the school to be as good as it can be,” said Kelly.

“One message that I was sent to the student body is that I’m just like you guys. That’s why you elected me. I’m here to represent you,” said Coleman.