2017-2018 StuCo Executive Board Elected by Student Body
The 2017-18 Student Council (StuCo) Executive Board has been determined after several weeks of campaigning: upper Jackson Parell will serve as President, upper Tim Han as Vice President and lower Elizabeth Yang as Secretary. The voter turnout of 703 marks a significant increase from last year, when only 484 students, or 44 percent of the student body, came out to vote. The election also marks the end of the 2016-17 board’s term. President Matthew Robbins, Vice President Hojoon Kim and Secretary Jackson Parell will vacate their positions this week.
For the coming school year, Parell proposes changes to help create a happier and more supportive environment on campus. Having been a part of Student Council for three years, Parell said he saw the office of president as the role through which he could effect the most change. “I know what it means to be an Exonian; I know the simple wrongs that plague our system. In the coming year, the Exec board will fix those wrongs. We will create a community that is healthier, happier and more supportive,” he said.
Some of Parell’s proposed policies include bringing outside culture to campus, through Boston art shows, Boston entertainment and food trucks. He aims to provide amenities such as printers, ovens and water coolers to dorms, and he wants to reopen academic buildings past 6 p.m. Along with providing a better dining hall experience through “DHall-to-go” and extended hours, Parell hopes to create a panel of students to give input into the faculty hiring process, both to secure diversity and quality of instruction. Through realistic and concrete goals like these, Parell hopes to have a tangible impact on Exonians' daily lives.
Students who voiced their support for Parell described his strong dedication and commitment to StuCo as an important factor in the election. Senior Charis Edwards noted that Parell was very much fit for the position, based on her own experiences with him. “Having worked with Jackson for a year in StuCo,” Edwards said, “I know that he works hard, cooperates well with a team and understands the role of the president of student council.” She also described Parell as passionate and said that “he will dedicate himself to the job fully.”
As vice president, Han hopes to give back to the community and looks forward to working with his fellow board members. “Jackson and Elizabeth are both very confident, capable and visionary people. I believe that we will work well together, as our strengths will complement each other,” he said. Similar to Parell, Han also hopes to improve the daily lives of Exonians, initially through small changes like the return of Elm Street Dining Hall’s panini press. In addition, Han hopes that this board will play an important role in reforming existing school policies, like the visitations policy. Han has already begun to pursue changes, working with the administration to bring more U-Print printers to campus and to allow boarders to ride in day students’ cars. Han also discussed the possibility of bringing an Alumni career fair to campus, an idea he borrowed from opponent Will Soltas’ platform.
As the newly elected StuCo Secretary, Yang said she is excited to be a part of the new executive board, and was especially honored to know that Exonians believed in her ideas and ability to make them a reality. Yang noted that the new board already has a great dynamic, as they are familiar with each other through their previous experiences in StuCo and other clubs. “What excites me are the commonalities within our platforms, like implementing dorm amenities, that will definitely help guide our goals and ensure a cohesive board,” she said.
Yang hopes to ensure clear communication between the Council and the Exeter community. “Along with quick school-wide emails, more ideas have been introduced through the campaign process, like student council livestreams and an Exonian column. With these concrete actions on my mind, I hope that throughout the year, the community is aware and supportive of the the platforms and actions the council pursues,” she said.
Lower Tara Weil, a candidate for secretary, described each elected candidate as “incredibly capable.” Although financial aid reform and faculty diversity (key issues in the platform of Parell’s rival Menat Bahnasy) may not be the top priority of the new board, Weil hopes that they will still attempt to address these areas. She would also “love the new board to listen to ideas from the outside,” noting that flexibility is something all Exonians care about. “I think this board had the potential to restore some trust between the administration and students,” Weil said. Overall, Weil is optimistic about next year and the changes StuCo will make.
Unlike many previous elections, sensitive topics such as race, gender and socioeconomic status played an important role for many students when determining how to cast their vote. During the StuCo presidential debate, Parell was asked: “How much of a factor is race in the Exeter community?” Parell responded by declaring that inclusiveness is important to him, but much to the dismay of many students, he quickly pivoted to criticizing opponent upper Menat Bahnasy’s financial aid policy.
Upper Sarah Shepley noted that Parell had not directly addressed the question, instead using his own platform to go against Bahnasy’s point. “I felt like Menat’s platform addressed students who feel like they don’t have much of a voice or an equal opportunity and Jackson seemed to completely ignore the problem about race. It seemed like everything that Parell said was representative of his entire platform-- things like foodtrucks, things that financial aid students might not be able to afford.”
After the assembly, many students discussed his response to this question. Senior Kesi Wilson sent a mass email to the Afro Latino Exonian Society (ALES) expressing her opinion on the presidential debate. She urged all members to vote for Menat because she has “the relationship with the administration and the drivenness to get a lot done, particularly in regards to the black and brown experience on campus.” She continued to explain that she was passionate about the election because “it seems awfully reminiscent of the recent presidential election—a white male candidate got up on stage today (during assembly) and acted ridiculously, in such a way that would be bitchy had it been the female candidate who is running against him.”
The email received backlash from students, though Wilson later emphasized that she did not intend to compare Parell to Trump. “What I did mean to highlight was the role that gender was playing during the debate and how similar it was to the role gender played in our general election,” she said. Furthermore, she noted how the topic of race and socioeconomic status did not appear in Parell’s platform to the extent that it did in Bahnasy’s. “When there was a question about race, instead of answering the question, and maybe cementing that part of his platform, he directed something at Menat instead of answering the question that was presented to him. That question was quite pertinent to me and a lot of my friends.”
Senior Zoe Marshall agreed that issues of race and class polarized the election. “This rift was because of race,” she said. Marshall attributed the divide to the debate assembly, saying that people viewed Parell’s answer to the race question as linking minority students and financial aid.
However, some viewed Wilson’s email as extreme. “I don’t think it’s fair for Jackson to be compared Trump, especially because Trump has a very negative connotation on this very liberal campus,” prep Asha Alla said. “I see how people could connect it, but Jackson hasn’t said anything racist.”
Upper Nick Song echoed Alla’s sentiments. “It is unfair to paint Jackson as a Trump-like figure, someone who spouts overtly racist comments in public and then makes this rhetoric an important part of his campaign.” He added that he was frustrated by the drama surrounding the specific moment in a campaign which, according to Song, was primarily centered around the positive yet feasible changes StuCo can make.
When asked what he would do if able to change part of his campaign, Parell states that he “would have reached out to more demographics on campus to address what they see to be the flaws in student council and in our school.” He acknowledged that he and Bahnasy had different ideas which appealed to very different demographics, and said that he would reshape his goals in the coming year to meet the needs of all students. “Next year, I will be reforming and reshaping my objectives so that they represent the entire student body; I will make sure that council works towards things that the Exeter community cares about most,” he said.
Health instructor and StuCo adviser Carol Cahalane expressed her hopes for the Council to “think broadly about student need and look for opportunities to bring about positive changes in our community.” She also saw parallels between this year’s elections with those in previous years in that they follow themes that are prominent at that time. “One thing that remains true, year after year, is that we have many talented and hard-working candidates,” Cahalane continued. “Sadly, they all can’t be elected, but I hope those who try and are not elected find other ways to be a part of StuCo or another organization where they make a difference.”