As the year winds down, Student Government election season has come to a close, and with a host of newly elected student leaders, a new faculty advisor has been added. Susan Elliott, Upper School history teacher, will become another Student Government faculty advisor and will play an integral role next year.

According to Upper School History Jeanne Barr, for the first time in Student Government’s history, there will be three faculty advisors: two returning advisers, in Barr and Upper School Dean Chris Bielizna, and Elliott. This position was added “in consideration of workload and the ability for us to spread our efforts in terms of working with the various committees,” Bielizna said.

Given that Bielizna is not a faculty member, Upper School Division Head Justin Brandon had been looking for someone on the faculty to join Barr for a while, according to Barr.

This is a change from what Student Government has been like in the past. Elliott said, “Traditionally Student Government has had two faculty advisors but because of changes in personnel over the last four years, it has fallen through the cracks.”

Elliot believes that Student Government plays a pivotal role in incorporating the student voice into the Parker community, “Student Government is one of the strongest aspects of the curriculum at Parker,” she said, “and I think it is working really well.”  

Adding another faculty adviser should benefit Student Government. “There are a lot of mechanical pieces,” Bielizna said, “and all those kind of details, and every student who is a member of Student Government wants to be engaged and actually doing things, and that engenders questions and wants for guidance, so having more folks in adult leadership roles will help with that.”

Adding a new faculty advisor will allow for Student Government to receive even more support from the faculty. Elliott said, “By bringing me onboard, it shows the school’s commitment to creating a real democracy here at Parker.”

The addition of this new position was to satisfy a need. “I think there is a recognition of need for this position,” Bielizna said.

The Student Government advisor role is a large task, and “Mr. Bielizna in his role as dean of students often gets pulled away,” Barr said. “There is enough going on in terms of the day to day, week to week and month to month, that we need someone who is able to be really on it.”

There won’t be many changes to the structure of Student Government with this new addition. “My plans are just to support what has already been created in Student Government,” Elliott said, “because it currently functions very well.”

The faculty advisor needs to be nimble, according to Bielizna.  “A lot of the work is responding to new situations in the moment and momentarily deciding with immediacy,” Bielizna said. “We do not know what students will propose for amendments to the Constitution, but as they move forward, we want to be responsive to what they are proposing. It is being in a position to do that as effectively as possible.”

Barr is interested to see how this new addition plays out. “I am looking forward to this new addition,” she said. “Elliott is a confident and strong person, so I think she will be a nice fit for this.”