A Preview of Wednesday U-Lunches Next Year

Jackson Antonow

Sophomore Jackson Antonow is currently serving as his grade’s Senate Representative. “Being a Senate Rep this year gave me a chance to be involved in the community which I thought was really nice,” Antonow said. Antonow feels that the Senate heads this year were incredible leaders and would like to try to follow in their footsteps this upcoming year. Antonow is a member of the boys’ varsity basketball team. Antonow, along with other members of his group, believe that the most important part about running for Senate is what type of person you are, and Antonow believes he would be a good fit. “I think I am that type of person that can help lead a room with these three other individuals.” 

Alex Carlin:

When sophomore Alex Carlin was an eighth grader, she was in awe of the Senate heads. “I remember when I was in eighth grade and attending my first plenary. I was sitting next to Tess and we were both amazed by what was happening on stage – the senate heads were organizing the High School walkout,” Carlin said. “We thought that they were great leaders, and wanted to be like them. That next year, as a freshman, I fell in love with Senate.” As a freshman, she served as an Educational Council representative. As a sophomore, Carlin is an AFS head and a small groups leader. “My experience is different from the norm in terms of Student Government experience,” Carlin said.  Even though Carlin is not a member of Cabinet, she still is an active participant in every Senate and Plenary. “I provide the perspective that I am not in the room where it happens per se, but I am still trying to get involved in any way that I can,” Carlin said. Carlin also believes that it is a testament to the type of group they are that they are still running with the same people they said they were at the end of eighth grade. “I’m running for Senate head because I think that Senate is a powerful institution, and I have the ideas and passion to lead it,” Carlin said. “I want to use Senate to make sure the students get represented in the big decisions at the school. I am confident our group is capable of running senate and representing our student voice.”

Eli Moog:

Ever since sophomore Eli Moog joined the Upper School, he has been an active member of the Student Government. Moog has served as the head of the MX and Music Committees and is an Upper School Model UN Captain. He currently serves in the Student Government Cabinet as the Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian is responsible for knowing and communicating the Constitution, the Constitution’s bylaws, and Robert’s Rules of Order to the student body. The Parliamentarian is also responsible for updating the Constitution every time an amending proposal is passed. 

Moog frequently writes proposals and presents them to the student body. This past year Moog wrote many proposals, including the Senate Representatives proposal. The Senate Representatives proposal holds Senate reps accountable for coming to Senate, and notifying their grade of the upcoming Senate on a weekly basis. “I think it will help us understand what, in our minds, the goal for Senate reps should be,” Moog said. 

He contributes his proposal-writing skills to the group and is excited to write more proposals and resolutions this upcoming year. “If we hear a topic in Senate that we think should be addressed and that we think the overall majority of students care about, then we will definitely write up a resolution that takes less than ten minutes, and it could have a really positive effect. It can show actionable things that come from our meetings,” Moog said. Moog is really looking forward to Senate meetings in the 2020-21 school year.

Tess Wayland:

In the last two years, sophomore Tess Wayland has attended every single Senate, serving as a Senate Representative as a freshman, and the Secretary this year. The Secretary is a member of Cabinet, and in charge of maintaining all of the Student Government records. The Secretary is also responsible for taking minutes for all Student Government meetings, including Cabinet meetings, Senate meetings, Town Halls, and Plenary sessions. “I have been to every Cabinet. I have been to every Plenary, so I know a lot about the interworking of Student Government, and what we have gotten done this year.” Wayland said. Also, Wayland is a member of the Morning Ex Committee, so she has a lot of knowledge on scheduling, sending emails, and working with the administration. She also believes that it is important to have a group composed with all different people.“The most important thing about a Senate group I think is you have four different types of people, who do different things,” Wayland said. “I do choir. No one else does that here, and so we just want to make sure that every type of student, who does every type of thing feels like they have someone who they can talk to and connect with.”

Goals:

• Expand Senate’s budget
• Increase student engagement and participation
• Full transparency with the student body and the administration 

Antonow, Carlin, Moog, and Wayland are all active attendees and participants of the Senate, and would like to do everything they can to create the best possible experience for the student body. The group strongly believes that the Senate is one of the best and most effective parts of Student Government. “It is the best part of Student Government, and the one that works reliably and makes the most change,” Wayland said. “I would really like to be a part of it because there are always changes you can make to such an important institution.” 

The first substantial change that the team would like to make to the Senate is expanding the budget. For the past couple years, the Senate’s budget decreased, and they do not think there is ever enough money for the Senate. “Something I would like to do is increase the budget of Senate by talking to the treasurer of the Student Government early in the school year,” Moog said. The group believes that increasing the budget of the Senate will increase the number of participants in the Senate. “Making sure that people can be fed in Senate will encourage people to stay and participate more, and I think the more opinions that we have makes it a stronger institution,” Moog said. 

The group would also like to strengthen the communication between the student body and the administration. One of the responsibilities of the Senate Heads is meeting with Upper School Head Justin Brandon on Fridays to review what was discussed in the Senate that week. “We would like to send out a google form of any last opinions before meeting with Mr. Brandon to make sure people are going to know what we are going to say,” Carlin said. Also, following the meeting, they would like to send out an email updating the student body on what was discussed during their weekly meeting with Brandon and give a brief update at the beginning of the next week’s Senate. 

If Brandon were to cancel that week’s meeting, the heads would try to meet with another administrator.  “We want to make sure that we are best representing the student body and those that attend Senate,” Carlin said. 

The group also recognizes that they take up a big portion of the Cabinet, so their responsibilities as Senate Heads go on beyond U-Lunch on Wednesdays. They are dedicated to being active participants in Plenary and at Cabinet meetings. 

In addition, they want to improve the culture of the Cabinet. “We have some ideas on how we would like to change both the culture of Senate and the culture of Cabinet to be a lot more inclusive, and a lot more welcoming, a lot more diverse in terms of personalities, and voices, and we want to make sure that people outside Cabinet of course understand what is going on inside,” Wayland said. 

They would also like the student body to know what is going on in the Cabinet, and they would like the student body to know what to do when they see something in the school that they would like to change. “How they should approach it with a resolution or a proposal. If they want to bring it to Senate, we want to help them do that. If they want to reach a Cabinet meeting we would like to help them do that as well,” Wayland said. 

Carlin, Moog, Wayland, and Antonow each have their own opinions. “We all respect each other, but we can respectfully disagree with each other,” Antonow said. “Somebody can speak up, and their opinions will still be respected, which will lead to actual change.” 

The group is ready to hear everyone’s opinions and wants to make sure that all members of the student body feel like they are represented in Senate. “We just want to make sure we are doing everything we can to change the school for the good,” Carlin said. 

Wayland agrees. “I am really excited, if elected, to have the opportunity to make sure that the student body sees results and feels like that what they are being promised is what they are getting,” Wayland said.