The Candidates, Head-to-Head

Alice Ju

If someone pulled up to you in a car and asked you to get in, would you? I’m guessing you wouldn’t (though there are probably a fair number of you who would say yes just because you like opposing things. I’ve seen you voting no to every motion, Jack Larkin). Anyways, before you get into a car, you want to know two things: who’s driving and where it’s going. You can think of Student Council like that car, and the president as the driver.You wouldn’t want to get in a car with someone who hasn’t driven before. Instead, if you wanted to go somewhere, an experienced driver would be a much better bet. The Student Council Executive Board works in the same way, even though I’m pretty sure Max, Joon and I all can’t drive. It’s a metaphor. All that aside, after being lower rep, a member of PR committee, and Secretary, I know who to talk to and work with to get everything done. Every week, in addition to the Tuesday meetings, we meet with Committee Heads, the advisors, Student Activities, the deans and the faculty and work on everything from hosting an event the coming Saturday to drafting a policy change that will affect the students for years to come.I’ve used my years in Council to listen to the students and get them what they want. Max, Joon and I created the Student Activities Commission, and I’ve come up with and organized events like Open Mic Night, the all-school Harlem Shake, the March Madness Tournament, Speed Dating, and the Talent Show. When I was lower rep, we held a Beach Day and Gym Night, ran Assassin, made newsletters, ordered class gear, held bake sales, and gave everyone chocolate. In dining hall meetings, I helped get bagels during Meetings, chocolate chip muffins every Monday, and more unhealthy cereals. Most recently, we worked with the deans and ordered boxes and boxes of dorm supplies, all of which I helped unpack and organize. These are just a few examples of what I’ve done for Student Council. I’ve always believed that since the students are the ones who elect me to a position, I should give my time and my effort to making sure I deliver what the students want.There are certain things the Student Council has to do, like running elections and planning E/A. I know how to do all of these things, since my job this year was essentially following Max around and doing whatever he did. I won’t need to waste time figuring out how to accomplish these small tasks. Instead, I want to use my time wisely and attack the large-scale policy changes that the school needs.This brings me back to the car. You want to know where the car is going before you get in, just like you should know what exactly the president wants to accomplish before you elect him. So here’s what I want to do. First of all, I want to rewrite the visitations policy. I’m not advocating for a complete overhaul of V’s and getting rid of them altogether because I know that’s not reasonable. Instead, I’m asking the school to take a small step in reforming the policy. No one can look at the current situation, in which we have thousands of illegal v’s cases every year, and say that we don’t have a problem. The current policy is supposed to protect students from running into unexpected visitors on the way to the shower, but obviously, with the amount of illegal v’s, that’s not happening. Through research on other preparatory schools’ policies and consideration of all our options, such as closed-door v’s for upperclassmen, I believe we can find a solution that benefits both the students and faculty.I also want to send out all-school emails for students to rate the dining hall menu. The entire student body saying that they want to replace, say, "Ginger Tofu Bake" with a different option is much stronger when I say it at one of our small meetings. In addition, we should push for lids for the cups and take-out containers for athletes, because I think it’s reasonable for our drinks not to spill and for our athletes, who suffer through three-hour bus trips, to eat something other than plastic-wrapped sandwiches. If we get started at the end of this year, which I plan to do, we can make changes to the fall term menu of next year.I also want to change the way DC works. Right now, teachers are informed about disciplinary cases but students are not. Every time there’s a case, the school becomes a giant rumor mill, but there’s no way to know what’s true and what’s not. I propose working out a plan for advisors to give students general overviews of each case without divulging names to put the rumors at rest and help the school as a whole learn from our mistakes.Lastly, I want to change the advising system. I love our faculty, but our advisors are sometimes ineffective. Maybe new teachers should share advisees, or students should pick or switch their advisors at the end of their first year here. I welcome suggestions from the administration, and believe we can find a way to make our system work.This is just the beginning of what I want to get done. We should have discounts at the stores in town and student representation on faculty panels. We created the Student Activities Commission this year with the idea that it will be a permanent organization, and we got more events this year. Next year, we need to go bigger and have events every single night of every single weekend.Spring is a busy time, and Exeter is a busy place. Frankly, I’m impressed that you even got through this article. Kudos. Studying for that math test is important for your future (and I just realized that I need to do that), but let’s also consider the future of our school. No matter how long or short the time you spend here at Exeter, you will always be an Exonian, and it’s our responsibility as Exonians to make sure we’re going in the right direction. All I ask is for a little bit of your time as you consider where you want Exeter to go and who you trust to take you there. I believe I have the experience and drive to move Exeter forward, and I hope you agree. 

Tj Hodges

Time and time again I have witnessed the impact that our Student Council has on each of us, and the potential it has to strengthen us as a student body and ensure that Exeter is the school we want it to be. StuCo has had its ups and downs during my time here, and this year has been very focused and productive. I don’t want to lose that, and I will make sure that our student council continues to represent us and serve us. That is why I am running for president.In council, I have served on the Public Relations Committee, the Student Activities Commission, and I have represented Student Council in the Sustainability Awareness Committee. I have organized several Student Council events like Karaoke Night and the all-school Harlem Shake. I am very familiar with the way that council and the executive board function, and I am ready to serve you.Last Tuesday I mentioned that this year our faculty and administration have made several decisions without the input of the student body. For example, the Prep Fall pass/fail decision was a solution in search of a problem, as one faculty member explained it. The premature start to Exeter Connect caught us all off guard, and the elimination of Community Action Day shocked us all. If we do not do something about it now, we will miss the opportunity to give ourselves a formal voice in these decisions. StuCo is one of the only organizations on campus responsible for representing the desires and needs of the students, and as students, we cannot afford to allow this kind of decision making to continue. I know that with a strong council I can give us a stronger voice amongst faculty and administration.I will create a committee of students that is in charge of keeping council up to date on the faculty’s agenda and delivering the opinion of the student body to the faculty and administration before any voting is conducted. Faculty meetings are very tedious and time consuming, and that is one of the reasons we have had so much trouble establishing our opinion as a part of their decision making. This formal relationship will make it easier for both sides to communicate and begin conversations on topics that we have ignored for so long.This system gives us the opportunity to deliver our views and ideas to the faculty now and in the future. Then, we can move on to ideas that have been turned down blindly by our faculty, staff, and administration, such as Friday check-ins, visitations, scheduling (Winter Thaw, Community Action Day), dining hall issues, and simpler out of towns. This change will help us all, but it will be especially productive to underclassmen. Our preps and lowers have two or three years left, and decisions will be made that will change their experience at Exeter many times over.As your President, I will see things through to the end. The President is in charge of leading the student council and representing the opinion of the student body. Next year, student council will be geared towards giving all representatives the responsibility of reaching out to those they serve. We have set big goals for ourselves, and as a constructive and efficient body with the support of the students, we will achieve them.It is not my intention to make promises just to get elected. I know it has been done before, and I know it has worked before, but I will not do it. Posters, speeches, and debates are all very important for delivering my message to the student body, but listening to individuals is one of the most powerful and important things a president can do. As you look for your next President, look for the candidate that isn’t afraid of pushing through the mistakes and failures of the past in order to make for a brighter future.It takes efficiency, perseverance, and a strong attitude to make a great council. Those are the same qualities that led to past council achievements such as the ASAP, the gender tab on lionlinks, and the end of dress code requirements in dining halls. Our Student Council is capable of a lot, so let’s push those boundaries. I want to take a steadfast and determined approach to Student Council next year, but I need your help to do that. Join me in making 2013-14 a year to remember, and vote for TJ Hodges for President.