Bright posters decorating the hallways. Students engaging in debates in the Harris Center. Food-filled tables lining the courtyard during Democrafest. These are all indications that the Upper School Student Government election season is underway.
For election season, there are two main groups that candidates are sorted into: Cabinet and Committees/Councils. Cabinet is composed of about sixteen student officers who serve as the governing body of the Student Government. Cabinet members meet every week to plan Plenary meetings and other Student Government happenings, as well as longer term goals. After the elected Cabinet members are chosen, there are then other appointed Cabinet positions that students can apply for, and who are chosen only by the elected Cabinet members.
Committee heads are elected groups of students, or sometimes a single student, that each have a specific focus that contributes to the overall benefit of the Student Body. There are seventeen committees, each with a distinct focus and set of bylaws.
Election season is a demonstration of student engagement in leadership opportunities throughout Upper School. The following is a guide to the goals of all candidates for elected Cabinet positions.
PRESIDENT:
The President serves as the chairman of the Assembly, meaning that they set the agenda for Student Government meetings and run those meetings if it is in Plenary format. The President holds all Cabinet members accountable, is an ex officio member of all committees, and is often called upon by the Administration to speak on behalf of the student body.
Ty Donath:
- Changing the culture and attitude of student government – plans to strengthen SG Bridge programing to educate and inform rising 9th graders, increase the number of people that want to go to Plenary by bringing a positive and active attitude to SG, adding another sergeant at arms or having one for each grade to fix anonymous questions and comments that are helpful for students that want to participate, just not at the mics
- Organizing plenary and small group meetings – plans to ensure quick and efficient handling of proposals by making them a priority in the Plenary agenda and shortening the questions and comment period, as well as helping committee heads organize small group plenaries by holding a brainstorming meeting with them
- Increasing Plenary participation – plans to transition to electronic voting to make the voting system more efficient and accurate, create an anonymous suggestion box through Google Forms to be put in the Student Voice, and incentivize those who participate in SG with candy to allow for more people to express their diverse opinions
Gabrielle Silverman:
- Adapting Student Government to fit the needs of the student body – plans to have a comprehensive review of the SG constitution, starting with expanding the Representative Positions, evaluate and refine SG procedures by addressing more challenging subjects that then lead to more effective proposals as well as add traditions like an ice cream social and superlatives, embrace technology by working with CTC on upkeep of the SG portal page to share information, highlights, and provide a feedback form
- Balancing SG responsibilities and dynamic atmosphere for students – plans to expand SG spotlights to both committees/affinity groups and club/individuals with out of school accomplishments, increase student support by bringing therapy dogs in for finals
- Collaborating with groups at Parker to leverage collective expertise and creativity – plans to connect with the Middle School Student Council by giving advice on initiatives, proposals, and how to upkeep written records, expand the impact of Cookies by promoting partnership between Curriculum and committees/clubs, and work to recognize the Secretary by holding more “Minute for the Minutes”
Annabel McIntosh:
- Transitioning and adapting to a new schedule – plans to revise the Constitution to reflect the new eight day rotation, allow Cabinet to amend the constitution for small changes, balance the SG agenda by allowing for both proposals and community building activities like song suggestions, SG Student Showcase, PB updates, and Committee Tank, and prioritize action during Plenary by utilizing Town Halls and proposals/resolutions
- Revamping the committee systems – plans to implement a Committee Inspection policy to hold committees accountable, create an easier Committee application process to encourage creation of new committees, and allow freshmen to change committees in their second semester
- Organization and accessibility – plans to create an online schedule accessible via the Portal for all club and affinity group meetings named the “Club Hub,” make all necessary SG documents available on the SG portal page, and hold bi-monthly meetings with the DOCCs and Middle School council to provide mentorship
SENATE:
Senate Heads, four in total, hold weekly meetings known as “Senate,” in which they discuss topics that are relevant and important to the student body. Any resolutions/proposals also must go before the Senate prior to coming across the entire student body during Plenary.
Max Satterfield, Nia Nashashibi, Heath Albert, and Ella Goodman:
- Encouraging attendance to establish a better understanding of school happenings – plan to continue sending out emails as well as weekly Senate recaps to demonstrate the impact of Senate
- Furthering the effect of Senate while making changes within the student body – plan to have amendments during Senate for proposals/resolutions and create/workshop proposals and resolutions based on Senate discussions
- Diversifying the forum at Senate – plan to have a diversity of speakers, affinity/club/committee heads, hold mock elections based on real candidates, and discuss pressing topics and problems in Chicago
Note that this position is uncontested, meaning that no one else is running against this slate.
TREASURER:
The Treasurer manages all funds for the year and drafts the Student Government budget. The Treasurer also is in charge of running Participatory Budgeting, which is when students are able to pitch items/causes that a portion of the budget should be spent on.
Benjamin Graines:
- Allocating funds in an efficient, non-wasteful manner – plans to base committee funding off of individual need, revisit and reassess funding allocations throughout the year, and create a deadline for community to propose usage for their money
- Revitalizing participatory budgeting for effective student involvement – plans to keep the PB form open at all times
- Enhancing financial transparency and accessibility – plans to implement regular updates about the state of the budget as well as ensure that all committee heads are aware of and able to access their budget
Note that this position is uncontested, meaning that no one else is running against this candidate.
DIRECTOR OF COMMITTEE AFFAIRS (DCA):
The DCA coordinates, oversees, evaluates, and disciplines all committees. The DCA also issues four sets of grades to each committee: two midterm and two semester grades, as a means of holding committees accountable to their bylaws and Student Government duties.
Lola Yee:
- Establishing a better connection between the DCA and Committee heads – plans to support and guide committee heads to ensure committee success by ensuring they connect with their faculty sponsors and are held accountable to their Bylaws
- Encouraging and helping create changes to bylaws – plans to make it easier to change committee bylaws by making it an internal process involving only a committee and the current Cabinet
- Revitalizing what committees mean to the student body – plans to either increase the number of committee meetings to around three times a month or to stagger certain committee meetings so that they only meet once every month, as well as encourage collaborative committee events
Sloane Demetriou:
- Creating missions statements that accurately position each committee’s purpose – plans to support heads in defining their mission statement by reviewing their bylaws and determining which parts best capture the roles of each committee
- Developing a goal setting road map for all individual committee heads and supporting event planning – plans to ensure a committee never receives a failing grade by working with committees to outline their events for the upcoming year, as well as checking in with each committee budget-wise
- Enhancing meeting operations to make them more efficient and interesting, capitalizing on the increased number of committee meetings afforded by the new schedule – plans to support and strategize with committee heads to ensure that their meetings aren’t redundant and that members feel like they are getting real value
Julia Josephson:
- Implementing the Committee Review Task Force in Student Government – plans to form a group consisting of one committee head and member from each committee that will meet two to three times a semester to discuss what is and is not working with each committee
- Creating a stronger purpose and drafting responsibilities for committee members to give them more of a place in the committee system – plans to host a bylaw revision workshop in which a clause will be added to each committee’s bylaws that outlines specific member responsibilities, encourage committee bonding events, continue having the committee-fest raffle to increase student engagement with every committee, and add a space on the committee placement form asking for why someone is highly considering a committee
- Ensuring that committee heads are leading strong, fun, and useful event that are open to the entire student body – plans to keep constant communication with every committee to ensure their success, promote communication between faculty sponsors and head by having them meet at the beginning of each semester to plan, encourage committee meetings outside of DCA-planned times, close the connection between committees and cabinet members with committee SG Instagram takeovers and committee Senate visits, and establish new committees such as the Snack Committee
To get more information about the candidates, read the Elected Position Platforms Document.
