Voter Turnout Exceeds 75 Percent for Prep Elections
On Tuesday, over 75 percent of the prep class flocked to the polls to vote for and select class representatives. A total of 11 candidates were vying for the three positions, determined to represent the voices of the class of 2019. Out of these 11 students, the Elections Committee announced the three final representatives: Jeremy Xu, Jimmy Liu and Chim Tasie-Amadi at the Student Council meeting Tuesday night.
To qualify as candidates, students were first responsible for collecting 100 signatures from their 9th grade peers. Many preps began to gather signatures, but in the end, only 11 students amassed the required number and were named candidates.
Each of these preps then publicized themselves as much as possible and campaigned their ideas.
Ashley Lin, one of the possible candidates, explained, “I changed my profile picture on Facebook and made posters to put around campus. I tried to make them as straightforward as possible so I put them in bullet points.”
Another candidate, Jimmy Liu, mentioned that he campaigned through social media and most importantly through his brothers on the XC team.
“Shoutout to my boys! I believe that I won because of connections. The more people you know and can connect to, the more people you are representing, which is the whole point of prep rep,” he said.
Each candidate had their own strengths and ideas about how they wanted to contribute to StuCo. Liu expressed his excitement about having the opportunity to form a closer student body and having students create memorable connections over the next four years. He hopes to achieve these goals “through many class events, like dodgeball and ice cream socials, along with amazing class gear.”
Liu even cited his original reason for campaigning as stemming from the strong connections he feels with his peers. “Running for prep rep isn’t just for myself. I feel like I bond with this class a lot and I want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to do so,” he said.
One of the other two representatives, Jeremy Xu, had the similar goal of forming a tighter community. “As prep rep, I want to create events so we can all become closer as a class. What’s important is that we create events that people are actually willing to go to,” he said.
What they hope they can bring to the table is brought out by the qualities that they believe will help them fulfill their roles as class representatives. “What is essential to us right now is all about communication. The ability to talk to the student body about what they want, expressing their views at StuCo meetings, talking with the faculty and StuCo, and in general, coming together to make sure that this class is accurately represented,” Jimmy Liu said.
Looking forward to work with these new, eager representatives, StuCo is glad about how the entire election turned out. “The prep rep election ended up running very smoothly. This year, we really tried to make it very clear that if students running the booth had questions, they could contact myself, Ms. Cahalane, or Rebecca. We’re really happy and excited that students are interested in choosing representation for themselves, and understanding the importance of having a voice in StuCo,” said Thomas Chou, a committee head of the Elections Committee.
Although the upperclassmen in StuCo are not familiar with the new representatives, they are hoping that they will represent the prep opinion well in Council discussions. “Personally, I don’t know the preps very well yet, but they all have been great members of StuCo so far. Outside of events, gear and other class-specific responsibilities, they will also be voting members of StuCo. Prep reps, like most class reps, are responsible for bringing their class together. As every prep is new to this school, I think the prep reps especially have a duty to do this,” StuCo President Rebecca Ju said.
The prep student body voiced similar opinions about what the representatives should put into action and what they expect to happen this year. Josiah Paintsil explained, “I want them to voice our ideas and make sure that Stuco doesn’t forget us in important discussions.”
Another prep, Katie Yang said, “I want them to use all of their distinct qualities to unite the prep class. I look forward to the events that will help form a closer community within our class and I hope that the elected representatives will be able to represent our voices well.”
In order for these prep reps to satisfy their peers and really make an impact in this community, many of the students and faculty believe that it is crucial for the representatives to work as a team. Chim said, “Although at first, Jimmy and I only jovially wanted to work together. Jeremy’s running surprised me, but still, the three of us, in my opinion, are friends all with brilliant ideas and if we do things right, we will be a great team and we can work cohesively.”
Contributions from Elizabeth Yang