“It’s just sad,” said junior Andrew Provost regarding the lack of elections for the Student Congress for next year. For the first time in history, the bylaws of Student Congress have been changed to accommodate the needs of the current congress.
This year Provost was able to skip the nerve-wracking pressure and preparation required to campaign for his position in Student Congress. Because there are no elections, all offices are already filled for the 2008-2009 school year and the officers know with certainty where they stand.
The reason for eliminating elections?
“There just wasn’t enough interest in Student Government,” said Ann DeBoer, adviser for Student Government.
The process to even begin being considered for office is long and complicated, deterring many students.
“You must attend a mandatory meeting where you get a packet with a lot of forms to fill out. From there we look at the people who attended the meeting and whether they filled the necessary forms and which offices they desired,” DeBoer explained. “Then we are able to fill the offices.”
Although the requirements to become a member of student congress are plentiful, rumors abound that the election has been “stacked,” with officers being placed where it would be convenient for them to go.
The next year’s senior class created controversy by temporarily abolishing a few of Student Congress’s bylaws, specifically the ones requiring members of the executive board to have previous experience in congress.
“The rules are there for a reason,” said an anonymous Student Congress member, “We don’t want someone inexperienced to be thrown into a powerful position and not know what to do.”
There was speculation that these rules were done away with in order to get more participation. However, some students are afraid that this may give others an unfair advantage and skew the student’s representation.
“It doesn’t seem fair that only this year all students will be able to run for executive offices,” said Sophomore Thad Tobin, “Will the same rules apply for next year?”
At this time, the bylaws have only been temporarily abolished, and will be reinstated for next year.
While it may not seem fair that this opportunity has only been offered this coming year, some students have also perceived this change as an improvement.
“It’s nice that they’re giving new people a chance to get into a higher office,” said Junior Maddie Beauregard. “It seems like they’re opening up.”
The lack of elections may be a signal of accord among the members. Becoming “Co-Officers” is very popular this coming year, like Andrew Provost and Will Kane, the future Co-Presidents of Congress.
Other Co-Presidents include Congress Vice Presidents Lindsay Mandich and Anya Cekauskas, as well as the presidents of every single grade.
While it is an indication of harmony among it members, not all in student congress are happy about this growing trend.
“Everyone is being co-officers so they won’t have to run against each other,” said Provost “It sort of defeats the purpose.”
