Hello Phillips Academy, I hope you have found these first weeks back at Andover exciting and have transitioned smoothly into your fall term studies. Student Council is busier than ever, coordinating our upcoming School Congress, running underclass elections and planning this year’s various initiatives. I myself have been collaborating with Upper Rep, Uday Singh ’12, in our community biking endeavor and hope to—grant pending—pilot the program this spring. Vice-President Jackie Lender ’11 has been meeting with Dean Rogers regarding the possibility of alternative test scheduling, Executive Secretary Chris Batchelder ’11 has been working with Mr. Kuta to extend the fitness center’s hours, and my Chief of Staff, Patrick Wolber ’11, and I have been trying to recreate AndoverTakeout, the Council’s old domain for local vendors and student discounts, through Blackboard’s Community tab. Our Upper Representatives and Senior Representatives are busy at work preparing for future fundraisers and events, and we all eagerly await the election results of Student Council’s Lower and Junior Representatives. It has been my great privilege to write these columns to you, my fellow Phillipians, and I hope I can solicit your involvement as the year goes on. Student Council is body of merely fifteen individuals, and while we each have big dreams for the school, achieving those dreams requires your continued support. This November we will have a Student Congress, for which we will invite leaders from across campus to represent the students’ voice, and we look to follow up that discussion with further dialogue from our Blue Bond project. Andover is indubitably a busy place, but I implore you, do not get so lost in the frenzy that you lose the experience. Enjoy your time here, the beautiful campus, and its brilliant people. The more we stress ourselves, the more ephemeral the days tend to be, so don’t preclude yourself from the moment by disengaging with Andover’s many opportunities. In that same vein, I remind you that student council has an open assembly every Sunday in the Underwood Room from 4 to 5 PM, and if you are able to, I strongly encourage dropping by at least one of our meetings. Good luck on your tests this week and, for upperclassmen, your SATs this weekend. Congratulations on a school year’s great start and the beginning of what is sure to be a year unrivalled! Yours truly, Michael MacKay Mike MacKay is a four-year Senior from Westford, MA and the President of Student Council.
