I complain about stuff every now and then, more frequently than I would like to admit. Sometimes I complain to teachers about something, just as a conversation starter. However, usually when said conversation is over they would say something along the lines of, “Bring it up with student council.” Except I do not know much about student council, I do not have any knowledge on being told who our class representatives are or who our presidents are. I vaguely remember Ryan Woods introducing them on the first day. However, with everything going on, learning our way around the building and the usual first day jitters, their names did not stick. Since the first day, I have never heard or seen anything about our student council or who is on it.

I asked around the school to see if anyone knew anything about it, and the majority said they had no idea. The few who said yes, it was either they themselves are on it or they are friends with a person on student council. Obviously if the student body does not know much about their student council, a group that makes decisions for the student body, there is something wrong. To me this shows that the student council is not advertising themselves enough, and the school staff is not talking about them enough.

Speaking amongst my peers however, they brought up a few points. Student council does make announcements in the email, however maybe they should be more constant. The advisor, Kari Gray, talks about the things student council is doing during her classes, however that still is not enough. The student council should advertise themselves using the resources we have, sending out more emails, posting signs in rooms and making announcements. 

Going beyond student council, did any of you know that we had two class representatives on school board? I did not, at least not until my mother and newspaper advisor told me. I did some digging and found out who the two kids who hold this role are. However, I would like to understand the role they play during school board meetings. Are they there to provide a student view, or are they there solely to provide information to the student body? Again, they are two people that have major say about what goes on in our school district and what happens to us, yet we have no idea what their roles are! Are you seeing a pattern here? I am.

I had a quick conversation with some of the staff on student council, they expressed that their main focus in many meetings is to get the word out, mainly by word of mouth and the announcements. However, whenever they plan an event the amount of student participation is severely lacking, so their attempts at connecting with the student body usually fail.

There are many parties to blame in this area, some on staff, some on student council. Yet, I think majority of the blame should be placed on the student body itself. There are just simply too many kids who do not care about the decisions made for them. I do not know why that is, but it is the truth. I feel if the student body was more invested in common problems and participate, then the student council would be better known and the class representatives would have more to say.