Checking in With SEHS Class Council
Homecoming, student versus faculty basketball, and operating SEHS Madhouse have been just a few of the tasks assumed by the Student Council and Cross & Anchors this school year. After a tumultuous 2020-2021 full of cancellations, disappointments, and longstanding school events taking a year off due to the COVID, the 2021-2022 school year was set to rebound. The weariness that came to define the year previous would, hopefully, be ameliorated by the class council and the events that naturally came with a COVID-free school year.
But some have professed that the student council has fallen short of the bar set for the school year. To some, they “do not believe that the student council has followed through on any of the hype they generated in the months before the school year.” Before the school year, students expected a return to how they remembered it back in their freshman and sophomore years. They expected packed rallies in the gym, rowdy student sections, and a return to the old days.
This negative sentiment is understandable. Winter formal was canceled, there have been no fan buses to watch the many state championship-contending teams, and one student professes that he has not even seen a single impact the class council has had on the school year. Most notably perhaps are the rallies, which have so far all been outdoor, a location which is not entirely conducive to the booming noise of rallies held in the gym.
Despite some negative feedback though, the class council has done an extremely solid job this year. In late August, the student section was packed for the first time since 2019, and for the entire season, football games were great for fans and players alike. These great student sections were facilitated by the Cross & Anchors, and their work was necessary for creating themes, leading the student section, and having fans there no matter who the opponent is. Even if the football team is under the lights, the fanfare still requires planning and coordination. In a similar fashion, homecoming is a foremost accomplishment of every student council, and this year was no different. Everything that could be controlled, including the theme, picture booths, and dancefloor, all went as well as anyone could have expected. Most students thoroughly enjoyed that night, and although nothing was over the top, it did not need to be after a year of lost homecoming.
However, the successes of football games and homecoming do not address the complaints against the student council, including the lack of winter formal and indoor rallies. But one must remember that the students are not the sole decision-makers. When something like winter formal is canceled, as it was just weeks ago, it is not because the council changes its mind. Rather, factors outside of their control come into play to affect their plans which would otherwise go into effect. The students are only one layer of the decision-making process. As executive council member Karim Elsharkawy said, “As a group, we do everything we can to make the school year amazing. Everything we do is for the sake of promoting and bettering the St. Ed’s community. However, the final say lies with the administration, as they best know how to represent the culture.” The student council is only the first step in creating action. While these students certainly do plenty for the school culture, they are, after all, just students. Thus, they should not, and do not, have the final power over school decisions. If the administration decides an idea is not in the best interest of the school, that is where the idea in question dies. Of all the ideas that come into a school year, only a fraction will be deemed feasible and beneficial by the administration, whose knowledge of school specifics exceeds that of any student.
In addition to answering to the administration, the student council must also adapt to whatever outside factors come into play. And the sheer dearth of school days in February threw a wrench into the plans for a Winter Formal that month. While many students wanted a formal, “it simply could not be done if we wanted to make it worthwhile,” said one Cross & Anchor Society member. What may, on the outside, seem like inaction on the part of the council could be a response to events completely outside anyone’s control.
Despite the complaints, the student council has done an admirable job this year. With the lack of school in February and the unforeseen growth of COVID-19 cases across the nation in the first semester, the council was presented with a tough scenario. No matter what, their original plans for indoor rallies, winter formal, and much else would need to be put on hold. But, in the end, the most has certainly been made of the year. From loud student sections to a state championship to a twice-canceled faculty versus student basketball game, the year has certainly been full of highs. And with the always jam-packed last three months of the school year coming up, plenty more is certainly coming down the pipe.
