Hackley Students Elect Council Leaders
Credit: Robert Hallock
Junior Brian Schmitt delivers his speech for the position of treasurer.
May 6, 2015
Community Council has accomplished some admirable things this school year. Student Council President Ryan Walker assisted by Student Council vice-president Ally Petitti were a power duo that took on the school year with high hopes in increasing school spirit. There were traditional events such as the school favorite, Spirit Week, and the seasonal sporting events. The newer events, for instance selling candy grams or valentines, and the Mario Kart “Showdown” appealed to all kinds of students and were unique in comparison to the traditional Community Council Events.
A popular way that students spread the word about school-wide events is through social media. There is a Facebook group for upper schoolers at Hackley called The Hive. When spirit week was approaching, the dress-up schedule was posted for everyone to see. The ideas were original and fun to take part in, such as Cowboy day and Pirate day. Each year council tries to switch up the themes and improve so that the students are enjoying themselves as much as possible.
The candidates who ran for school president were Luka Yancopoulos and Ally Pettiti. Luka’s older brother, Damis, ran the school only two years prior to Luka’s running. The role of student body president is to better the school in every way possible. The president listens to other members of council and their ideas, and then does their best to make the ideas a reality. Sophomore Chris Thompson (who was president for the Class of 2017 several years ago) ran against Junior Joe Lovinger for the spot of vice president.
Junior Julia Stevenson became a member of Community Council this year for the first time in her high school career. Coming from a council-rookie’s point of view, “The people this year brought a lot of really original ideas to the table”. Ideas such as the Snapchat geotag are unique from from what has been seen in the past. Julia also mentioned how much work is put in behind the scenes. According to her, “It takes a lot more work to do the things that we (the student body) get to enjoy.”
Mr. Arnold, who has been a faculty advisor to Student Council, says that this year, there has been a real focus on doing things that are beneficial for the community as a whole. In the past few years, Council has evolved from a lot of positions to fewer position. This is so these fewer people could be very dedicated to their work and have more of an impact.
He said that something that council should still try and work on is not letting the bulk of the work fall on only a few people. Mr. Arnold expressed, “When someone runs for council, they are not just committing to showing up on Tuesday nights. They are also committing to give up their time to make sure that things run smoothly.”
Current junior Ally Petitti was only a sophomore when she was elected to be Student Council Vice President the proceeding year. She has been a part of council for all of her high school experience and loves it. Ally feels that “being Vice President as a junior was really fun and also a lot of work, but it was definitely a different step that allowed me to do a lot more for Council and to get more involved.”
For her fourth and final year participating in student government, Ally ran for student body president. She first got inspired to be involved with council because she love planning events, leading the school, and coming up with fun ideas for everyone to take part in. Ally will continue to create great events like the Snowball 2014 and 2015, as well as annual events like the Bonfire. Ally doesn’t see a future in politics for herself, but hopes to pursue student government throughout college.
Sophomore Class President Kevin Kim joined council only this year and doesn’t plan on running again this upcoming year. Kevin came into the Hackley community freshman year and almost instantaneously knew that he wanted to be involved in student government. Kevin shares, “I saw Damis (President of 2015) and how he was all spirited and the big guy on campus and I felt like I want to pump up my grade and do something better for the Class of 2017.” He felt that between the Snowball, Movie Nights, and the new competition for a Snapchat geofilter, student government has been a big hit this year. While pondering why he wanted to run in the first place, Kevin “…Wanted to do something better for the Class of 2017. I want to feel more connected.” In Kevin’s opinion, one way in which council could improve going forward is to have better funding. More money means more events for the school.
As elections approach, students will be asked to vote for who they think will make their school year the most enjoyable and who will best represent the student body at Hackley. Council has done a great job this year, but as Mr. Arnold pointed out, there are always things that can be improved upon. Yet, the very essence of student government is that, with a new slate of officers coming into the fold each year, an opportunity for improvement similarly comes around annually.
