Student Council Spring Term Reviewed

This past term, Student Council (StuCo) has focused its attention on three major projects: RedBikes, Cookies and Convos and the Ten Thousand Dollar Initiative. Capitalizing on its resources and membership, StuCo has piloted several programs to much success, and is eager to pursue new goals in the coming year.

Upper and StuCo President Ayush Noori notes that the largest introduced program was RedBikes, under which students may use bikes provided by Phillips Exeter Academy. “[The program] was successfully piloted this past spring,” he said. “We hope to roll the RedBikes program out to the entire campus at the start of the next school year.” Thus far, RedBikes has proven more secure than its predecessor, the Yellow Bike Program, which suffered from theft and poor management.

The Executive Board has also begun reviewing submissions for the Ten Thousand Dollar Initiative. After several years of accumulation, StuCo has amassed $10,000 with support from the Newman Fund. “Our council is in the unique opportunity to impact the community on a wide scale,” Noori said. “We are deciding on how to use them, and it may not necessarily be in one place or for one project.”

This term, StuCo also introduced Cookies and Conversations: events during which students suggest initiatives for StuCo committees. “We generated hundreds of tangible proposals and committees have now picked ideas which they would like to pursue further over this next year,” Noori said. “I am, for one, very excited to see what committee heads, under the guidance of the Executive Board, can accomplish with these proposals.”

Cookies and Conversations has provided numerous committees with fresh ideas. “We want to improve orientation events, for one,” Policy Committee Head Smaiyl Makyshov said. “[Co-head] Summer [Hua] is also working on improving feminine hygiene products in girls’ dorms. We are also considering incorporating the House System.”

Over the summer, individual Committee Heads will be refining their Cookies and Conversations proposals, while the Executive Board will be looking at options for the “Ten Thousand Dollars Initiative.” “Hopefully, students will be able to see the fruits of our work as the new school year starts,” Noori said.

While large-scale projects continue, individual committees have also been working on smaller events and initiatives. “In this past term, Recreation Committee has been hosting a variety of fantastic events, most recently Spring Fling and the outdoor movie,” lower and StuCo Co-Secretary JaQ Lai said. “The Technology Committee has been making some incredible progress on the D-Hall app as well as the StuCo website, while the Mental Health Committee has filmed video profiles of each counsellor for student awareness.”

StuCo has also continued its engagement with the community with its Public Relations Committee. “We have a very powerful [public relations] team, who have been doing a phenomenal job. We hope they will encourage students to remain engaged and remain involved in civic life at Exeter,” Noori said.

Upper and Public Relations Committee Co-Head Jasmine Liao noted the improved social media prescence of StuCo. “Our committee has revamped the Instagram page: we started to upload twice every week,” she said. “Our plan over the summer is to amass more followers and create a regular post schedule.”

Noori hopes that StuCo will maintain its positive working relationship with Principal William Rawson. “As usual, StuCo makes an effort to best represent the student voice. This includes extensive collaboration with Principal Rawson, such as on Evening Prayer and diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said. “Generally, major concerns the student body had, we worked extensively with Principal Rawson on.”

Members of the student body have taken notice of StuCo’s increased visibility. “I've definitely seen the posters they’ve put on campus, and their online presence is growing as well,” upper Blane Zhu said. “In terms of being visible on campus, they have definitely improved, but in terms of … change on campus, I'm not sure if I have experienced that yet.” Zhu understands, however, that initiatives take time to come into fruition. 

Other students appreciate the effort to hear more student voices. “From my limited knowledge, I think Ayush has been doing a good job, really trying to listen to the students and make meaningful changes for what we want as students,” lower William Vietor said. “Cookies and Convos was a good idea because it’s a great way of broadening the sources of policies in Student Council.”

As the school year draws to a close, Noori is confident that StuCo is on the right track. “I think we have a group that is dedicated, hard-working and remarkably driven,” he said. “I am excited to see where we go.”