School President Danny Silk ’07 ran the first Student Council Meeting of the year last Sunday night. The council discussed various issues, ranging from academics to class events. Day student Tori Wilmarth ’09 joined Student Council representatives to discuss ways to improve day student interaction with boarders. • Day Student Dorm Involvement Wilmarth informed the Council that some day students in the Class of 2009 wanted to become more involved with dormitory life. One proposed that day students be assigned to a dorm so that they can participate in dorm activities and possibly have a key to the dorm’s common room. The Council dismissed the idea of giving keys, citing it as a security and insurance risk and a further burden to janitors and house counselors. The Council liked the idea of an environment conducive to more day student-boarder interaction, but predicted that the new Student Center in current development will provide a place for day students to socialize with boarders. Current hangout options are the OWH Library and George Washington Hall. They also discussed mixing day students and boarders in larger orientation groups with two Blue Keys, a day student and a boarder. The general consensus was that there will always be some degree of separation between day students and boarders, but the Council would like to help integrate day students into boarder life. The Student Council will revisit the idea of assigning day students to dorms at their next meeting. • One Card Key System The Student Council has been working on the multi-purpose cardkey proposal since last year. Ideally, there would be a single card that works as a student ID, can be swiped at places of study to sign in, a dorm and room key, and a debit card for things like laundry, vending machines, and novelties in Ryley Room or the future Student Center. Similar systems have proved successful at other prep schools. The Student Council feels that the idea is well supported; however, there is no funding for the project. The Council will discuss their idea at the end of the term during Student Congress, when the Student Council will meet with faculty to present a topic of their choice. “Student Council is hoping that people will realize how big of an issue this is. We especially want to use it for the gym, which is a security issue,” said Silk. • Class Events Each class will have a scheduled Event and a $1,000 budget. Class representatives are in charge of determining what their activity will be. Ideas include pizza or ice-cream parties, laser tag, paintball, ice skating, and entertainment by student bands. The main challenge is planning an event that can take place on campus since transportation for an entire class is very expensive. The Junior Event will take place on October 13, the Lower Event on November 3, and the Upper Event December 1. • Arts Day The Council discussed the possibility of holding a school-wide Arts Day this spring. The event would take place outside and include student bands, theater performances, and other art-related shows and entertainment. • Elections Student Council members appointed a committee of Frank Pinto ’08, Akosua Oforiwaa-Ayim ’07, and Shay Paintal ’07 to organize elections for Lower and Junior Class Representatives. The student government’s constitution requires that Junior and Lower Reps be elected by October 5. Silk e-mailed the Lower Class early last week, instructing all candidates to have their platforms and signatures in by today. Speeches and elections will take place next week, and Juniors will be required to have their signatures in by next Friday. Junior elections will take place the following week. Pinto, as the Head of Technology on Student Council, ¬¬is investigating the possibility of online voting for all class elections. The Council hopes to either hold a preliminary round in Commons with finals online, or both rounds online. • Cluster Day vs. Quad Day The student council was divided on the issue of this year’s Cluster Day. Some preferred having the Club Rally separate from the other events, while others thought the combination incited a larger turnout than Quad Day alone. In the end, the Council decided it would be best to hold the Club Rally on the Friday of the first weekend next year, followed by the first dance on Saturday and a more organized Cluster Day on Sunday. Silk told the Council’s conclusions to Kennan Daniels, Assistant Director of Student Activities, and Cindy Efinger, Director of Student Activities. Plans for next year will continue to be discussed. • Bring Back Blue Pages, Add Dorm Directory The council agreed that Blue Pages, released two years ago but not last year, were a helpful resource for students and should be printed again this year. The Blue Pages included dorm sizes, distance from Commons, and restaurants in downtown Andover, among other facts. Two members of the class of 2009 requested a comprehensive guide to dorms on campus, showing their location and listing the house counselors, number of rooms, and possibly including a picture to better inform the students during the housing process. These facts will either be added to the Blue Pages or put on PAnet, where it unauthorized access is restricted. • More Forums The Council also agreed to hold more forums on controversial issues, preferably once a month in hopes of involving students with whatever issues may arise this year. Although many students don’t know it, all Student Council meetings are open to the public. Students are encouraged to e-mail a council member with any ideas or concerns if they wish to discuss them at a meeting. • New Committees Pinto will be a student government representative to discuss student concerns with Commons food with Academy Nutritionist Aggie Kip. Matt Cranney ’08 will probably be representing students on the Library Committee. If no scheduling conflicts arise, Cranney will work with OWHL Director Elizabeth Tully and other library staff on library-related issues. • Increased efficiency Silk announced his plan to have representatives from all classes working together on various issues this year, instead of having the two representatives from each class choose one issue to work on as well as their Class Event. Silk hopes this idea will make the Student Council more productive.
