Photo Credits to Suzan Kim.
On Tuesday, March 31st, elections came to an end when the Student Council representatives for the 2015-16 school year were announced via speaker to the student body. Results came out as:
Vice President: Kenneth Rhee
Treasurer: Soowan Jeong.
Secretary: Caitlin Chan
With a total of 11 candidates, the elections determined school representatives for the executive positions of president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. For weeks before the voting, candidates campaigned by hanging posters, as well as creating YouTube videos with answers to questions describing their previous leadership experiences, opinions on student council as a school organization, and secret skills.
The electing process took place over the course of 4 days, starting on Friday, March 3rd, and ending on Monday, the 30th. The voting itself was conducted on the Naviance portal, and the term for these newly elected representatives begins this week and commences in March 2016.
President, Kevin Ma, states in his campaign video, “It really makes me happy to know that I can impact the community.” Each of the executive appointed executive council seems excited to live up to their expectations. Soowan Jeong, states, “Its fun working with your friends to make school better for other people…I’m definitely looking forward to giving back.” However, while the new members seem excited and eager to get to work, they have a lot of demand to respond to.
One BCA student states that they want “improvements in the pool tables, more food in BCA mart and better cafeteria food”. Another student believes BCA “should have more assemblies” in order to increase the time students have to “just sit back and relax.” A freshman asks for more school field trips. Another student asks the council to try harder to “make school a no-bully zone.” Multiple students call for a method to better student-teacher communication as well as more exciting or creative fundraisers and events.
What exactly does the student council do? The scope and limits of student council activities has never been clearly defined, but the council is responsible for the annual Homecoming dance, Field Day, the holiday assemblies, and other smaller events and fundraisers. They also take action in response to requests from the student body – an example would be last year’s installation of hand dryers in the basement.
Former Vice-President, Jane Yoon, states: “My experience being on Student Council has been one of opportunities and growth. I’m grateful for the role I’ve played within BCA Student Council and hope to continue my leadership in college.” Being a student council member requires hard work and time commitment, but seems to be a very rewarding opportunity for many students.
One BCA student states, “I just hope that they keep doing what they are doing.”
*To learn more about Student Council President Kevin Ma, check out Alexander Whang’s interview!