Parker is a place where the student body’s voice is valued. Parker created Student Government so that students have a say in what happens in the Upper School. It is where the whole Upper School gathers together and addresses problems and concerns. Even though there are many leadership positions that can be filled, it is important that they are filled by the right people.
“Student Government is important because you get to see who really are the leaders in the school,” Student Government President Ty Donath said, “It is Parker’s way to acknowledge the voices and opinions of the student body and create a better community that will benefit everyone.”
A candidate for President Ella Goodman believes that Student Government is a , “rare opportunity to have a democracy like this and to have everyone’s voice heards. It is also a great way for people to be able to advocate for themselves and show their passion for student government. It also helps people develop leadership skills, public speaking that they may need to do in the future.”
Overall, Student Government at Parker is a unique opportunity that not all schools have. The students at Parker get to have a say in how each year looks, and that they have the power to hold other faculty members in the Parker community accountable for unfair actions. Parker is a place where students have a seat at the table so their voices are heard and their opinions recognized. It is a place where changes can be made to things the student body declares aren’t working.
Positions in Student Government are either filled by groups or individuals. To show the student body that they actually are going to take on these positions to expand on the good and create beneficial change, they have the opportunity to share those ideas with the student body. Each candidate gets one chance to share all the factors that make them qualified for the position. After that, it is down to the students to elect those positions. So, after listening to all the debates, speeches, and elevator pitches, how do students elect the right people? Is it who their friends are, or is it actually who they think can take on the responsibilities of the position?
Freshman Samantha Kovler, who is running for two committee positions, has noticed that people tend to want to vote for their friends. “I don’t think election season is necessarily based on popularity, but I think not enough people take the time to read people’s platforms to understand their goals and qualifications and just tend to vote for their friends,” Kovler said.
“First, popularity is important as there is only a popularity vote. That being said, the social hierarchy leads to many imperfections and inequalities. Having social clout is a way to leverage yourself against opponents who might even be better than oneself,” said sophomore Aragon Goldman, who is running for the position of Senate Head.
Senior Julia Josephson ran for a position last year and did not get elected. “For presidents, it has become more of a popularity contest, and people are getting tired of seeing the same people elected. I would like to think that it is not, but from my experience, it doesn’t seem to be that way. That’s why it’s important to vote for people who are going to make that change..”
The president makes sure everyone’s opinions are heard while maintaining order and function in the student body. That’s why electing a good president is important. The president, in theory, is elected by their qualifications. “As for whether I believe that election season is about popularity or not, I think that popularity definitely helps at the start of a campaign. More popular people obviously know more people and have more connections. However, I believe that popularity is far from the deciding factor, and it’d be disingenuous to call it a popularity contest. We’ve seen many times before where a ‘less popular’ person was elected over another due to merit or being more qualified. I think that when push comes to shove, most students will almost always pick the person that actually benefits them the most or is qualified the most, over someone who’s simply more popular,” junior Daniel Chang said.
“Something that I have noticed is most of the time, people may not know the other candidate that well, so that’s why they may lean to the familiar name that they know will be someone who will be fun. But to answer the question, I think that yes, the election season is based on popularity to a certain point… People don’t want a student government where they are just being lectured in, so they elected presidents who they know can be fun but also get things done,” junior Ella Goodman said.It’s important to hear previous president Ty Donath’s opinion to see the perspective from someone who already went through the battle of election season. This year, Donath has been able to settle down the uprising that occurs during student government, and he has also been an advocate for change and encourages the opinions of others. But was this position given to him based on his qualification or who he is? “I believe that yes, it is based on popularity, but there’s a limit. You can’t just be popular and handed the position, you also have to be also qualified for the position. But I also think being popular is a qualification itself because that means people like you and people want someone they like to be running things. They want someone they know can be fun while also being able to take the initiative to deal with important situations. But overall you can’t just be popular,” Donath said.
According to some of the members in Parker’s student body, election season is based on popularity, but to a certain extent. The student body wants to elect people who they know can make the changes needed and bring in new ideas, while also making sure to have fun with it. As kids, no one wants to sit around and be talked to, that’s what class is for. Students actually want to have someone who will be engaging and take charge to fix the problems Parker faces, while also being able to bring them back to the fun side of things. Overall it isn’t necessarily your status, but instead it is based on your personality and whether or not you are going to be someone to keep the student body alive, engaged, fun, and most of all, productive.
