Student Council Reforms CVP Block

By ARYAN AGARWAL, JINMIN LEE, LILY RAMPE, and  HANNA WEI

Beginning this winter term, the Core Values Project (CVP) changed to a more flexible schedule with advisory meetings and wellness blocks designed to standardize the experience for all students. 

The CVP block is a 50-minute block every Tuesday morning meant for discussions about community values and anti-oppression. Historically, all CVPs have been student-led, with students brainstorming and pitching ideas at assembly. However, the Student Council initiated this change by collaborating with the administration after students raised concerns about CVP’s efficacy. This term, the CVP block’s activities will change per week, with new advisory meetings that focus on having conversations about open discourse alongside protected times for student rest. The original student-led meetings are now optional. 

With the Student Council’s CVP initiative, the Executive Board provided insight into the altered program structuring. Student Council President Cam Khater elaborated on the changes, highlighting the block’s newfound flexibility. “The traditional setting had facilitators with the conversations, and it was a required appointment. It’s different now as those are now optional.” 

Though not mandatory, Khater made it clear that “students are still able to lead CVPs and conversations that they deem important. They can still continue to hold meetings, and students are very welcome to engage in conversation.” 

Khater added that this new, open system is conducive to furthering productive discussion rather than mandating conversation. He reflected on the inefficacy of the prior system: “What had happened was that you had easy CVPs, such as those that promoted sleep or spending time outside. Students would use that as a way to get out of CVP.”

Khater said that the original system pushed students who were excited about these conversations into the same room as those who needed more time for their studies, “giving CVP a bad name rather than sparking genuine conversations because not all of the students were fully engaged.”

Student Council Vice President Anna Holtz described the process of working with the administration. “We set up a meeting with Dr. Bramlett and Dean Taylor. Although we entered the meeting with our concerns about CVP and our ideas about how the block could be used, it felt as though the administration had a predetermined idea before the meeting. Despite this, it was nice that they gave the Student Council freedom to determine the plan for two of the CVP blocks. Nonetheless, I understand that students often don’t use a free block for wellness, so I’m fine with bringing the students together with a reformed CVP block centered around mental health.”

Lower Drona Gaddam expressed his appreciation for the wellness block on Thursdays, stating how it helped him prepare for upcoming tests during the week. “I’m really excited to see what the wellness block has to hold because, I think during such a stressful time, such as just these two weeks, for example, I have a test on Tuesday and a test on Thursday, so the wellness block really fits right in between. It gives me a good mental break.” 

Lower Joshua Mullen agreed, “I’m really excited because I can see what the wellness blocks will entail next week. Perhaps it could mean some meditation time for students.”

While the new CVP schedule may still seem confusing to most students, many are appreciative that CVP blocks have been kept consistent on Tuesdays, minimizing confusion within the new winter term schedule. “I appreciate the school not making it more complex for me because if CVP blocks were at a different time, I think I would get confused. If they did it on Wednesday, I’d be so confused.” 

Students are also glad that CVPs seem to be less enforced this term, allowing for more flexibility during the day. Lower Crane Lee expressed that while the new schedule allowed for more free time, it could also still have the same impact. “CVPs seem to be less enforced now, and while it may be more inconvenient for me only because I had to go to the Academy Building, I do enjoy the blocks being scheduled during department meetings.” 

Lower Lake Zhou agreed, “I think the impact of having these conversations is important. For some people, it can be a really big thing for them, and as long as there are  people who value it, I think it’s worth it.”

Other students expressed concerns about the new format, sharing a preference for the previous CVP method. “During my advisory meeting, we only talked about having open conversations, but I don’t think I took much away from the experience. I think the previous way was much better,” said senior Freddie Chang.  

“I didn’t like the advisory meetings,” added senior Juliet Stien. “It was an awkward 20 minutes of conversation where nobody spoke. If we incorporate the CVP ideas into the curriculum, maybe people will have the opportunity to actually use it for what it is.” 

Overall, some students expressed content with the recent changes toward a more flexible CVP block emphasizing wellness, while others raised concerns regarding the efficacy of advisory meetings.