A central government is important to any modern society, even more so in high school. As a center for learning and self-expression, high school should be an opportunity to find a voice, especially in your community. This begs the question: Who will be the voice of the students? Who will fill the gap in communication between administration and the students?
Student government has been present at The Village School since 2012, with the first graduating class of the high school. The organization has taken on administrative issues and systemic changes in past years -notable things like club organization and hallway music have all been achievements and amenities they’ve accomplished. Still, over the past 12 years, student government has segwayed into dance/event planning, and more menial tasks. Straying away from administrative changes isn’t necessarily their fault, as administration gets stricter, there are fewer things the group can individually control. Student government should not only have a say against admin but also have a clear objective and definition – one that aligns with those of Hype House and House Leadership. Two organizations that plan events for the students, so that they can all work hand in hand to make The Village School a better place.
“[Student government] comes up with ideas, like if there’s a specific event that Student Government would like to have, they have a proposal template – and then they talk with Mrs. Sealy (the advising teacher) about the plan,” said Ms. Thomas, Assistant Director of The Village School and previous advisor of Student Government. Ms. Thomas now sits on the high school leadership team, the administration members in charge of approving proposals. Whether the organization proposes an actual administrative change, a dance, or an event, it must go through the high school leadership team. The problem resides where bigger proposals come into play. If the Student Government wants to propose bigger changes like dress code switches or more freedom with technology, and the administration keeps denying them, their only resort is to move to planning student-organized events instead of changes.
Our current Student Government depends on our administration, “And it shouldn’t be that way because there has to be a common language and goal.” Said Andrea Sealy, an entrepreneurship diploma teacher and the advisor for Student Government. For any good government to work, there must be checks and balances, so the administration having a say in what the group does is more than fair, but it shouldn’t restrict the benefits to our students. The ultimate goal of not only Student Government but also Hype House and House Leadership is to make school a place you want to be. The pep rallies and spirit days promised to excite students to go to school on that certain week or day. However, when there are limited things to do and overused events, it starts getting repetitive and loses participation.
The lack of communication between the three clubs makes for even more repetition. Student Government is in charge of bigger assemblies and pep rallies, so they’ve loosely worked with Hype House and House Leadership. “There’s not a lot of collaboration, and I don’t know if there needed to be,” said Ethan Morgan, the advisor for House Leadership “Because in the past student government was doing something completely different with the administrative, systemic stuff, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now,” Mr.Morgan, a teacher at The Village school for 14 years, has seen it all to do with administrative changes. “There is not much communication between the three.” Morgan Isenberger, the president of Hype House, said, “A lot of communication comes between Mrs. Thomas, who does Student Government, and Hype House.” If these three clubs are the pillars of our student body, why don’t they communicate?
Each organization, whether Student Government, Hype House, or House leadership, should have its own set of responsibilities to make events and plan activities whatever they may be. I am not to judge what the responsibility between each club should be, especially since I am not in any of them and am just here to voice my opinions on administration restrictions and organizations. However, the only thing I could suggest is just to have a set of responsibilities for each club, to avoid overlap and make school a more fun place to be.
