The Phillipian

I believe that when addressing the issue of Student Council’s powerlessness, one needs to keep in mind the responsibilities of both the President and Student Council. In my opinion, proactiveness and adaptability are just as important as the age-old standby of student-administration communication in terms of ensuring our student government’s effectiveness.

I do not agree with the perception that Student Council is powerless, and I plan on working with Student Council in a way that strays from standardized procedure. Instead, I will attempt to establish a system that pursues the most effective means of seeing ideas through.

Student Council needs to adapt to the needs of the very people it works to benefit: the students. If the students set a reasonable goal that can be reached without overstepping the budget or crossing any boundaries, then Student Council should do everything in its power to see that we reach that goal.

When it comes to promises during the campaigning process, I have made sure not to make any promises I cannot keep. In my opinion, and as I have expressed through both my posters and the debate, smaller steps make a big difference.

I plan on addressing the small, pestering issues that many students have brought up, as they are the problems that can be realistically fixed.

Nearly every boarding student I know comes out of his or her dorm bathroom with wet hands. The solution: environmentally friendly paper towel dispensers or even hand dryers. I have focused on addressing fixable problems through funny and appealing mediums, such as posters, and based on the feedback I have received. I feel that I have led an effective campaign in this regard.

Now, what makes a problem fixable? Many people would think that the student-administration rift prevents a lot of issues from being resolved. It comes down to what the issue is and if the solution is realistically the best solution.

Boarding students have been blocked from playing Xbox Live. You can argue against the block, saying that online play is satisfying and helps relax students (which is not always the case, especially coming from a person who does not enjoy losing at video games), but you need to look at the issues from both sides. Realistically, does the administration see any benefit to reinstating Xbox Live? No.

That was just an example, but it reflects the different desires of the students and administration.

While on the topic of online interactions, I would like to address the issue of internet speed. Over the course of my three years at Andover, I have helplessly witnessed the speed of the school’s hard-wired dorm internet connections slow down. During my Junior year, the bandwidth policy was still in effect, and the Internet was noticeably faster. The removal of the bandwidth policy was greeted with near unanimous praise by all boarders.

There is a trade off, though, and the school’s wired connections are slower, especially in comparison to the rapid speed of PAwireless. I feel that the wireless network our school currently has is incredible, and I would gladly pursue the expansion of this network’s wireless range. We need to focus on what our school does well and helps the students by making it even better.

I’m extremely grateful for all the students that have helped me get this far. This school needs something new. We need a fresh mind leading Student Council. I was not a Lower Rep. I am not an Upper Rep. I am a student.

Over the course of three years here, I have come to understand the people around me through basic and daily interactions. I like to consider myself the people’s leader, and I will continue staying down to earth and approachable throughout this campaign. I will work my hardest every step of the way, all the while with a smile on my face. Expect me to put a smile on yours.

Chris Batchelder is a three-year Upper from Manchester, MA.