Student Council Executive Board Elections Commence

By JILLIAN CHENG, EILENA DING, and KAYLEE GONG

For the past week, the student body has been unable to go to the New Dining Hall or other popular spots on campus without hearing, “Can you sign my sheet?” and have a white sheet of squares and a pen placed in their hands. As Phillips Exeter Academy reaches the halfway point of the 2024-2025 school year, student-run organizations and clubs have begun to prepare for their turnover season.

Building off a streak of student body elections, such as the CCC nominations, on Jan. 21, a classic Outlook notification alerted prospective candidates about the upcoming annual Student Council Executive Board election process. With guidelines on candidacy campaigning filling computer screens across campus, the Academy’s Student Council (StuCo), the largest and most prominent voice amongst the student body, has begun its process of seeking and choosing the perfect new Executive Board, beginning with the most notable positions of President, Vice President, and Co-secretary.  

To say Student Council is important would be an understatement. Throughout the years, the council has served as a way for the students to make change in our community and allowed the voices of students to be heard. “Student Council is the engine by which we make change,” senior Cam Khater, the current StuCo President, stated. “We act as a liaison between the administration and the students. [...] It’s important to have people who represent the needs or the desires of the entire student body.” 

However, with great power comes great responsibility. The election process is paramount to placing the most qualified candidates in positions of power on the Student Council. The elected representatives must be held to a high standard of being the face of the students and consistently prioritize the best interest of all students.  With an intricate running and election process, StuCo can make sure that the elected candidates are truly fit for their crucial position. 

Upper Lauren Lee, current Co-secretary, explained the election timeline, “Candidates for president are going to be acquiring signatures from now until Monday [Jan. 27] and vice presidents until Tuesday [Jan. 28]. That submission will include our campaign posters, campaign statements, and a total of 350 signatures from the student body.” 

Until the deadline, students across campus are scrambling to receive as many signatures as possible.  Khater sympathized with many of the stressed Executive board runners. “I do think [the signature process] can be a little exhausting. Regardless, I feel like it is necessary to ensure accountability and legitimacy for the end results to make sure that your candidates are committed to your job.” He added that the current board is considering an alternative to the signature process. 

Furthermore, many of the runners and prospective candidates have mixed feelings toward the petitioning process. “I’m a little bit stressed out,” lower Artur Ferreira, who is running for Co-Secretary, said. “At the same time I like the signature requirement. It sort of helps make sure that candidates are dedicated to what they’re doing. It’s gonna be fun.”

For upper Dylan Richardson, the signature process is a highlight of his campaign for presidency. Richardson enjoys listening to the thoughts of the student body during the signature process to form his campaign initiatives. “I’ve been going over the required amount of [signatures]. I’m at 510 right now,” he said. “I really believe the student council should be guided by the opinions and the people. Plenty of people run on very specific initiatives, but I am looking to put my initiatives together based on the voice of the people. I’ve been collecting feedback from what people have been saying in the dining halls, on the paths, just wherever I’ve been asking them. I think with that, I’m gonna be able to run a campaign that is really based exactly around what the students want. It’s very important that what we set our minds to is what the students want us to be doing.” 

Not only do the signatures make sure that each candidate can represent a large portion of the student body, but they also allow possible candidates to interact with their supporters. Senses of personality and genuineness are gauged for more accurate voting, and the runners can meet more people.

Lower Jade Yoo, who is running for Co-Secretary, reflected on her favorite part of the signature collecting process, “I honestly am having a really good time getting to meet people and talk to people. When I ask people for their signatures, they often ask me why I want to run. Then, I get to sit down, talk to them, share my vision and some of my ideas, and introduce myself to them, which is always a fun opportunity. I’ve been really enjoying getting to meet a lot of new people and interacting with the student body more, whom I’ll hopefully be helping when in Student Council.”

“I really enjoy [collecting signatures],” lower Dani Méndez, a current lower rep and Co-Secretary runner, agreed. “I think it’s such a nice time to connect with people, even though it’s kind of awkward to run into people randomly. However, I think it’s the best part of connecting with students.” 

Across the large selection and candidacy pool, there is a wide variety of students running for a Student Council position, whether or not they’ve been involved in the past. Most candidates have spent hours in the Forum dedicated and consistently attending Student Council. 

Lee felt that “Election season is a very trying time with lots of stress and emotion all around, but I think that ultimately if you remind yourself of your core values and motivation to get to know more people and desire to serve the student body, it shouldn’t be too mentally taxing.”

However, some candidates have not allowed their lack of experience to deter them from aiming high. “I’m running for president of StuCo,” Prep Ben Lewis said, while also admitting he hadn’t attended StuCo before. Despite this, he still felt that he would best represent the student body “I’m a man of the people. I represent the preps, lowers, uppers, and PGs.”

Even with the looming turnover process, the current Executive Board has still continued to plan new events. Especially with many of the current members and notable leaders running again and focusing on their own reelections, they have still admirably continued their current commitments and duties. Lee noted, “We have a jazz cafe event planned as well as other Dorm Cup events, which are going to be a lot of fun.”

Upper Andrew Gould, co-head of the Recreational Committee and vice president runner added, “We are going to have a ping pong tournament starting soon, where dorms will face off in a series of games throughout February. Additionally, we will be hosting casino night late in February, which was a big hit last year and is a revival of the old Abbot Casino that existed before Covid.”

Khater concluded, “While the turnover process is in the middle of the spring, there’s still a lot of work we have to be finished with, and I look forward to transitioning to the next board because I know that they are going to do great things.”

With official voting and results arriving soon in the upcoming weeks, the student body is excited for a new board of ideas and initiatives taking charge.