By Emily Rice
Politics is an incredibly important part of our society. As we reach closer to the voting age, the more it is pushed on us. We even have a student council that could do a lot of good for the students. They can give us a voice so those with power can recognize problems and better our lives and our environment.
The council tries to bring forward issues that affect the whole student body. They give voice to topics that the administration has yet to be informed of. The student council allows us to take charge of our environment— this is how we can fix those problems in our school that we always complain about.
There are many different roles within the student council that we should understand before voting on our student representatives. There are nine different roles within the council, one of which is the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chairs meetings, create the agenda and provides leadership. The Deputy Prime Minister works with the Prime Minister to fulfill all of the tasks.
The Secretary takes minutes of meeting; this is essentially a written record of all meetings. The Secretary takes and sends this record to all relevant people. On another side, there are finances to deal with. The Treasurer is the student responsible for the student council’s budget. They ask questions like “Should the council raise funds?” or “Should they spend funds on presentations?” etc.
Communication is essential for any council of people, chiefly when responsible for a group of people more significant than themselves. The Public Relations Director is responsible for communicating with the student body what the council is doing. They also have the role of finding ways to bring the student body’s voice to the council. In charge of communicating with us, this role will allow us to express our concerns to those with the power to change it.
In times like the years we’ve seen, something we can’t deny is vital for our school is the environment. We can rely on the Commissioner of Ecology to bring an environmental and sustainability perspective to the student council’s aspects.
Beyond the council's general roles, there are also roles to represent specific groups to represent these groups properly and be specific to their needs. A Grade 10 and International Student Representative is tasked with expressing these particular concerns to the student council. There is also an Indigenous Representative; this is not a position the entire student population will be voting on. The person who will fill the role of Indigenous Representative is selected by a consensus amongst the Indigenous Leadership class. That is the people this student will be representing.
Luckily for us, there are at least two candidates for every role, some with more than five running candidates. Now that you know what the students will be responsible for, you can vote for the right person. While there are different aspects to every job, there are specific skills needed for each role; pay attention to who you’re voting for, are they the right ones?