Recently in Student Government, a proposal was drafted, introduced, and passed that prevents rising freshman from running for committees as well as elected officials. In the Constitution, in Article X: Elections and Appointments, Section A, Clause 1, ii, it now reads: “no eighth grader may run for an elected position.” While some students may believe rising freshman do not have enough experience to hold important positions, limiting their involvement can be harmful to the productiveness of Student Government.

Student Government has always been dominated by Upperclassmen. From Cabinet positions to committee heads, and with even less involvement from the ninth grade students, Student Government officials do not represent the entire high school. Freshman are a valuable voice of the Upper School, and as they are experiencing the Upper School for the first time, their voices deserve to be heard and represented.
The less freshman representation there is in Student Government, the more it becomes centered around only a certain part of the Upper School. With even less freshman representation, Student Government faces the issue of not representing the entire student body— making it less effective and true to the opinions of the students.

When I was in eighth grade, I applied to be one of the freshman Senate representatives. I didn’t think think that I would get it, but I saw it as a great opportunity to become involved in Student Government. My siblings had held this position in the past, and I thought I might as well give it a try. After receiving and holding this position, I started wanting to be more involved in Student Government. I loved the way it ran and functioned and the improvements that were made to the school as a result.

Holding a leadership role gave me responsibility and made me value Student Government more than I did in eighth grade. If it wasn’t for this position, I would never have gained the confidence to ever speak in any of the Student Government forums.
This year, I am a Small Groups Leader and an active member in Senate, and all of this is because I was able to gain leadership experience as a freshman. The leadership position that I held was centered around the freshmen, but even if one held a position that involved other grades, they still would be able to gain a passion for Student Government.

I am sure that there are other students who did not have leadership positions as freshmen, but are still equally involved as I am. However, I may not have gained the confidence without having that leadership role. It gave me a chance to learn more about how Student Government operates in a way unlike someone who didn’t really participate could.

While the proposal does not prevent eighth graders from applying to become Senate Representatives, it limits them from running or applying for other positions. If the proposal passes, there will only be two freshmen who hold leadership positions—the two Senate Representatives.

While some people believe that rising ninth graders do not have enough experience to hold leadership positions and should just observe Student Government for a year, the problem is that ninth graders cannot gain as much experience if they are not able to hold a position.
It is possible to gain experience by just watching and speaking in Plenary, but it is not the same as holding a position. By holding a position, it results in more participation and communication between other leaders, and helps students gain more confidence speaking.

Some students may say that the issue of eighth grade students being allowed to run is that the election turns into a popularity contest. However, that is not always the case. There are times when an eighth grader “has a name in the high school,” but there are many eighth graders who are extremely qualified and interested in Student Government and deserve the chance to be involved.
Additionally, while there is no solution that will fix the popularity contest overall—the problem exists for all grades. Many students only recognize this issue with the eighth graders, when in reality, it is a problem for every elected position, regardless of grade. Even if one is not voting for an eighth grader, they may still vote for names that are familiar to them. It is impossible to fix this problem as it is rooted into the culture of high schools everywhere.

Although this proposal has passed, I hope that freshman can still find ways to be involved in Student Government so that it represents not only sophomores through seniors, but the needs and opinions of the entire Upper School.

As my eighth grade year was coming to a close, I was frantic figuring out ways to immerse myself into the high school. In order to better assimilate as a freshman, teachers and older students suggest that eighth graders explore various activities and extracurriculars. With Student Government being a prominent aspect of the high school, eighth graders are often eager to take part in it, just as I was.

Although I was excited to actively be involved in Student Government by having an elected position, looking back on my experience, I am glad I didn’t have one. I do not think eighth graders should be able to run for elected positions. The proposal to prohibit eighth graders from securing a position in student government as freshmen will help maintain fairness across the freshman grade and promote experienced students to take leadership positions.

Even though the Directors of Committee Affairs (DOCCs) educate eighth graders on the functions and basic rules of Student Government, they are inexperienced and have much less knowledge about Student Government in comparison to their older counterparts.

The DOCCs try their best to inform and prepare the eighth graders for Plenary, yet they still attend Plenary for one semester before entering high school. Electing a student for a leadership position who has had such limited time in Student Government takes away possible positions from students who have spent more time engaging with and learning about Student Government.

The eighth grade class is not representative of the entirety of the incoming freshman grade. Because of this, new students are put at a disadvantage due to their inability to run for an elected position during the spring.

The actual process in which eighth graders get their name on a ballot is unfair. A common trend throughout election season is when older students recruit an eighth grader to run with in order to win more votes. However, this eighth grader is normally already well-known and well-liked (normally by having an older sibling in the high school) throughout the high school putting lesser-known eighth graders at a disadvantage at joining a committee. During my eighth grade year, many of my friends were asked by older students to run with them on a committee. Although I would have liked to run for a committee as well, I was unable to because I simply was not asked by an older student to join their group, and as an eighth grader, I was unable to start a group of my own.

With this proposal, freshman won’t be completely omitted from Student Government functions. They will still be placed on a committee, can attend Senate, can engage with the material in Plenary, and can voice their opinion more comfortably in Small Groups. Through these various forms of Student Government, freshmen can learn the way the government functions more thoroughly than they learned from their DOCCs. They will be learning by doing which will eventually benefit them when running for a position for sophomore year. This proposal will maintain equality across the freshman class in terms of Student Government participation and will secure elected positions for more experienced students.

Before the proposal was passed, new freshmen had to sit on the sidelines and watch their peers engage in leadership roles while the freshman elected to these positions were chosen based off their popularity and status. This practices of Student Government completely contradicts the values Parker embodies: equity and inclusion.