In the beginning, five candidates were in the running to become the next Student Government President. By the time students took to the ballot, only three remained. Though junior Martha Wedner dropped out of the race because of other commitments, junior Priscilla Roman withdrew–and, it appears, ran–in order to make a statement.

On the day of President speeches–and Voting Day–Roman announced that she, too, was dropping out of the race. During her speech, Roman recounted some of her personal experiences with Student Government and outside of Parker. After going over her allotted time and being asked to sit down, she withdrew from the race–an act she had been planning since the beginning.

Though there might have been a better way to go about doing it, what Roman communicated was important: Student Government needs to be a place where all voices are heard, acknowledged, and regarded equally. We cannot ignore the lack of diversity that has remained a part of Student Government for so long.

As we look towards the coming year, “The Weekly” wants to reflect on the past Student Government Election season and emphasize its commitment towards supporting inclusivity and effectiveness in regards to Student Government.

The elected candidate, Kaden Florsheim, ran on a platform of “increasing engagement,” “enhancing communication,” and “fostering an inclusive environment.” These are important aspects of Student Government that must continue to exist.

There exists a line, though, between bringing in fresh voices and keeping those with experience. On a Cabinet of 14 members, only two have served on Cabinet in the past. Naturally, one does not need extensive experience to be qualified for a Student Government position. But they do need to have a certain level of familiarity with how Small Groups operate, an understanding of voting procedures, and the knowledge to write effective and implementable proposals.

“The Weekly” urges Florsheim to be cognizant of the limitations of his cabinet but at the same time work towards using those fresh voices to implement change. We cannot have another year of Student Government where progress is thrown to the side. We need to have inclusion. We need more talks like the Gender Dialogues.

In his platform, Florsheim advocated for the addition of a “Freshman Communication Auxiliary” to Cabinet–a freshman-only position that would ensure underclassmen representation. Yet when the appointed position application was sent out, Freshman Communication Auxiliary was nowhere to be found.

How can a candidate who so strongly advocated for increasing new voices during his campaign have left out such an inclusive position?

With a new Upper School head next year, Florsheim is in a prime position to implement his ideas. But Student government cannot thrive amid broken promises.

“The Weekly” applauds Florsheim for standing up for inclusion and for advocating ideas of equality and greater representation in his platform and campaign. “The Weekly” supports this rhetoric, but we need to see those ideas actually implemented.

There are those in the Student Body who believe Student Government Presidents cannot actually accomplish anything significant and will have no real impact on student life or on Student Government.

Kaden Florsheim–do not make those claims true. Follow through with your promises and work towards improving the Parker community to make it more engaging, communicative, and inclusive.