Introducing: The Student Government of 2022-2023
May 31, 2022
On Friday, April 29, Student Government officers for the upcoming school year were announced. Out of the eight students that ran to be an officer of Student Government, the four elected officers are Isabella Caceres (President), Prithvi Narayanan (Vice President), Raya Wolyniec (Secretary), and Luca Snyder (Treasurer). What is to be expected of the Student Government next school year?
Each officer has certain responsibilities they must adhere to, but that does not stop them from having their own goals and agendas.
“As treasurer, my role will mainly be ensuring that all funds that are planned to be used for things are used responsibly, and are able to be used,” Luca Snyder explained, “But I think some things that I want to focus on are the current responses to the student mental health crisis we’ve had.”
Secretary Raya Wolyniec has a different responsibility but similarly strives to start change in State High.
“Secretary is a lower position for Student Government, but it’s all based around community, so taking notes is the main thing I do with my leadership council. But my personal [goal] is to fix the curriculum for Muslim students, because a friend of mine was forced to work out during fasting. I was like, ‘we really need to do something about that’, because there is nothing about that that is in any curriculum and there is no procedure for that, ” Wolyniec expressed while describing their duty as an officer.
Vice President Prithvi Narayanan has similar goals for the upcoming school year. He plans on improving the most stressful parts of high school and making it easier for students to stay afloat during hard times.
“My goal for the next school year is number one, changing homework policies. That was one of my campaign promises that I had. I intend to keep up on that. I’ve engaged with the school board, and they are very excited to change the homework policies. Students can get an extension if they have a family emergency or a mental health crisis. That would be a stipulation if you can get that extension an x number of times per class per month,” Narayanan stated, describing his plan to achieve his goals.
Another goal for Narayanan is to bring the student body of State High closer together.
“The number two priority is really ensuring we have school spirit because that’s been really lacking over the last two years and there’ve been a lot of incidents, unfortunately, in our school. That can change, and that can change with new leadership and new administration,” Narayanan expressed passionately. “I think this is a great opportunity for the student government to engage with other clubs like the student senate and engage with extracurriculars in order to make sure we have school spirit.”
Each of the officer’s goals is closely related to what they believe and stand for. Although each officer has different plans and goals for the upcoming school year, they all believe in improving the school environment and building the community.
“One of my number one beliefs is [that] in order to have a good educational experience, we need to be together,” Narayanan proclaimed, linking his goals with his beliefs. “We need to stand together and we need to experience things together. We need to be appreciative of each other and each other’s humanity. We can only do that when we have a good school [and] when we give sufficient funding to extracurriculars and clubs.”
Snyder echoed the same sentiment but focused more on the equity aspect of a school environment.
“One of my beliefs is strongly rooted in an important [foothold] on student mental health, and I strongly believe that a good mental state and care for mental health is one the most important parts of a student learning environment. That’s definitely a belief that ties into my goals. Another belief would just be that equity is extremely important to any school environment. That’s why I want to work for a more equitable [school environment],” Snyder stated.
Because of the importance of each position in Student Government, each officer expressed immense amounts of excitement towards their roles in commencing change.
“I think that I am most excited to be able to have this opportunity to be a representative of the student voice, within my work as secretary,” Wolyniec remarked happily. “I’m not only [doing it] for college. I really wanted to be able to make a difference in my school, and perhaps one day move up [and take the position of] Vice President or President.
Narayanan has been representing his class for a long time and is excited to further that representation.
“I’m really excited about being able to represent my peers at a school-wide level. I’ve been representing my class, the class of 2024, and had great fun doing that last year and this year with the student senate. I’m looking forward to turning a new leaf and working with student government, being a leader, and using that new position to advocate to the student body. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with the student senate,” Narayanan announced.
As for the student body of State High, there are a few things Student Government wants you to know.
“This team in Student Government, we all have a lot of ideas for what we want our school to be, and how we want it to be changed. We will definitely go off of what the students are saying, and not our personal beliefs. But I think we will be a team that is fighting for big and important change,” Synder explained.
Narayanan had the same sentiment but had a few other things he wanted the students to know.
“Come to student government, come to your clubs, come to people you know are leaders in the school community to let them know what you want to be changed. My email is [email protected]. Just send me an email if you want anything changed, because that’s what I’m here for; I’m here for the students, I was elected for the students, and I’m excited to make changes that are for the students,” Narayanan proclaimed, asking the students to help initiate change and provide insight for the student government.
The student government is going to be here to cater to the student population’s needs. Whether there is a problem with the homework policies or a change in equity within the school, Student Government and the board of officials are going to work to fix the problems. All it takes is communication and belief in the officers.
