Nor DeHoog ’24 and Ryan Lam ’24 were elected on March 24 to be Andover’s 2023-2024 Student Body Co-Presidents, hours after participating in the final debate at All-School Meeting.
Over the past year, the pair have served together as the Class of ’24’s Student Representatives. Lam shared how their previous work together made the pair confident that they can work together to accomplish their initiatives.
“Both Nor and I really love connecting with people. I think that’s something that embodies us as a pair… Since we’ve both worked on Student Council over the past year, that’s probably one of the bigger reasons why we decided to run together… We said in the debate, we know we can work together, we know how to get things done, and we complement each other’s strengths,” said Lam.
In their campaign, Lam and DeHoog emphasized communication with the student body. As Co-Presidents, Lam and DeHoog’s first plan of action is to make Student Council processes more transparent with Andover students.
“Town Hall is our idea to make Student Council open. And I think that that’s something that we can do easily once we’re established as Co-Presidents. And I think that introducing the current Class Reps to a model that is a little bit more open will take two or three meetings to give them an idea of what that might look like… I think that’s a really feasible one that we can get done,” said DeHoog.
At the core of their campaign, the pair focused on community building initiatives, such as Day Student integration in dorms, offering spaces for relaxation, and opportunities for students to focus on themselves. Lam shared his favorite aspects of their platform.
“[My favorite part of our platform is] our ‘Oasis Spaces’ and our ‘Café Corner.’ Those are ideas [that] we want to place around campus. More relaxation, less study-oriented spaces around campus where people can relax, become centered again, and maybe even bond with other students. That’s something that we put a lot of thought into in terms of logistics, as well as, what it means for the campus,” said Lam.
Additionally, the pair emphasized collaboration in their platform. DeHoog discussed the importance of working with the administration to accomplish their goals throughout the pair’s tenure.
“I’ve watched the past three [pairs of] Co-Presidents and their time, and of course being a Class Rep, you don’t see the ins and outs completely of what they’re doing. But I think that I’ve had really great models, same with Ryan, for knowing how it is to work with administration, as opposed to against them. I do think there’s a time and a place to push back and work with ideas, but I do think they want to collaborate with Student Council and with students. So I think that’s the first thing is being somebody who’s able to collaborate and to realize that ideas to be fully implemented, they take time,” said DeHoog.
The pair is hopeful to accomplish their initiatives with the help of the administration, the former Co-Presidents, and their pre-existing knowledge of Student Council. Reflecting on the campaign, DeHoog reminisced on why the pair decided to run together and their initial ideas for Andover.
“When we first initially were having conversations about why is it that we wanted to run, I think the big thing is that we recognize that one of the ways that Student Council can improve is by bringing more people in on the loop and getting more people involved in the process. So I think for me, I’m really, really excited to begin that process of getting more people involved in more of the intricacies and behind the scenes of student council because I think that’s something that not everybody knows on campus,” said DeHoog.
