Student Council Executive Board Plans 2019-2020
The newly elected 2019–20 Student Council Executive Board stated their commitment to actively gather student ideas and translate them into concrete changes throughout their tenure. The board is also launching their “$10,000 initiative,” a contest open to all students for the best proposal on how the budget should be spent.
Exonians elected the new board on Feb. 20—upper Ayush Noori as president, upper Matthew Wabunoha as vice president and lowers Charlotte Lisa and JaQ Lai as co-secretaries. The official board turnover will happen on April 9; by this date, new committee heads, class representatives and dorm representatives will also be appointed. Within this transition period, the departing and incoming boards plan to hold frequent meetings and conversations to ensure a smooth turnover.
Departing President and senior Elizabeth Yang said that the 2018–19 board impacted the school community through small but concrete actions. She noted the board’s funding of Exonians Against Sexual Assault’s “Got Consent?” t-shirts, as well as their organization of the Q&A assembly with Principal William Rawson in the fall.
Yang added that this year, StuCo began many larger-scale initiatives to be continued by future boards. “We’ve planted seeds for the OneCard program and a larger StuCo project. And we have continued and continue to work with faculty on a new daily schedule and new health curriculum,” she said.
The departing board also generated the idea of setting aside $10,000 of the Council’s budget to devote to a large project with a lasting impact on the Exeter community. However, the board could not decide on an initiative warranting the large sum of money.
“We had trouble getting a great deal of student ideas and feedback early on in the process, which slowed down the timeline,” outgoing Secretary Audrey Vanderslice said. “We want to make sure that whatever the money ends up going towards is reflective of student opinion and desire.”
While the departing board held discussions with Student Council, Dean’s Council and various administrators and staff members, they decided more feedback was necessary. As a result, the new board has decided to launch “The $10,000 Initiative, a school-wide call-to-action,” according to Noori. “We aim to find the most compelling ideas that will have the greatest potential to increase the quality of student life,” he said.
The board has created a Google Form where students can submit their ideas. According to Noori, the Executive Board will then select a project “based on our experience of what is feasible” as well as on discussions with Student Council and adults on campus.
Noori said that the $10,000 initiative was only part of the new board’s broader goal to hear student voices and enact concrete changes. “As a board, we have decided that our priority is to engage as many people as possible in conversation, and then turn their ideas into tangible action,” he said.
Wabunoha said that the new board is also considering other areas for student input. “Right now, we’re discussing a project on students giving course feedback, and I’m excited to work with that because part of my campaign was improving access to student feedback in a variety of ways,” he said.
Under the incoming board, Student Council will also face some internal structural changes to facilitate communication between different committees and boards. “Each committee will now have a point person on the Executive Board, who will be responsible for establishing the connection between Exec and committees,” Noori said. “When students propose ideas for change they want to see, the Executive Board will form a clear timeline for its feasible implementation with the appropriate committee.”
Overall, Noori said the board hoped that in the upcoming year, Student Council would serve as a forum to unite Exonians from diverse backgrounds in dialogue which can create positive change on campus. “The new board is wholly committed to garnering as many ideas as possible, and turning as many ideas as possible into reality.”