Student Council should run like a well-seasoned varsity team. No matter how great the team, without its loyal fans, it may just as well stay in the locker room. The fans decide whom they follow, and their choice is based on the success of the team. You, the Andover student body, are the fans. As your President, I would make Student Council accessible. At every Student Council meeting, which I hope to stream live with web cams, a different member from each class and each Quad would voice their concerns for that week. It may be a member of the hockey team explaining that upon returning from games, he is still hungry. He would ask us to have faculty reconsider continuous dining by providing sandwiches in the evening. Whatever the concern, unless the fan base is drawn into the game, the Presidency is useless. However, the team must also be successful. No one wants to support a losing team, and as people, we enjoy success. I need your desire to take the varsity Student Council to the next level. You already know that I have brought you rafting trips, beach trips, etc. But that’s not enough. I want more for you. I have researched wireless technology to try and see the possibility of printers in Sam Phil. I even tried last year to have bells installed in Sam Phil. Many of you went on the Lower class beach trip, an accomplishment that the administration told me was impossible. Well, it happened. I will continue to try and create innovative events for all classes. I have the desire to take Student Council to different venues, as we all want to see this team win. I want Student Council to have more exposure. We may have meetings with energy and creativity, but like the team in the locker room, if the fans are not privy to these meetings then they may as well not happen. I want to rally, encourage and inspire you to bring your ideas to our team, and I want to bring our team out to you by the weekly web casts and by sponsoring an event to raise money that will then be donated to support a local student (not from PA) to attend a leadership conference. Student Council will have exposure. The election isn’t over yet – but thank you, PA. I could not have come this far without all of your support. Thank you. Thank you bros who got up before 12pm on a Saturday morning to take poster pictures, the friends who spent afternoons designing posters and the faculty members who stopped me on the paths to make “Leader – I mean Lender” jokes. Thank you to my freshmen team, who were always there to brighten my day. Thank you to the Lowers who spent two whole days filming my campaign video and the best friends who listened to me practice for the debate (“Even though you think that it’s funny that you can see Siberia from your car, no one else does”). Thank you for staying on the phone with me when there was homework to be done, telling me your honest opinions (“Jackie, do not wear a pantsuit, you’ll look like Hillary”) and boosting my confidence when I was having a rough day. Thank you to the Senior who sent out my campaign email to fifty of her friends, the fellow Upper who ran around the library encouraging people to vote and the senior mentor and PG who got all of his friends to “Vote Lender.” Thank you to everyone who has ever told me that they voted for me and liked my platform or posters. Thank you best friend who was there when everything seemed to go wrong. Thank you to the best friend who proofread this article. You guys are my varsity team, and this is the game we have all been waiting for. Go Big Blue. Vote Lender. Jackie Lender is a three-year Upper from Lynnfield, MA. She is one of the Upper Representatives for Student Council.
