As the year comes to a close, preparations are already being made for the next. The class of 2029 was recently admitted, course registrations and service hours are due, and the junior class took the SAT. The junior class was also given the opportunity to represent their school community in this spring’s ASB elections.
The process to become an ASB officer is long and arduous. Candidates must not only seek the approval of their peers, but also the school’s administration. While some positions used to be appointed by teachers and faculty only, and others were strictly based on popular vote, now every candidate must achieve a healthy balance of both to be elected. Sophia Jison (’26), who was recently elected as ASB Chair, recognizes that “[ASB elections are] a competitive process that requires you to put your full self out into our community. It means campaigning and reaching a wide audience, while also upholding our core values of integrity and respect for fellow candidates and students.”
The ASB election process is different from any other student council election on campus. The positions are only available to seniors and they serve the whole school, as opposed to solely their class. Ms. Savinovich says that the senior council and ASB “have very different missions. ASB is voted on by the entire student body because they represent the entire student body. Despite being seniors, they are also focused on what freshmen, sophomores, and juniors need. Senior class council gets to focus more specifically on what their class culture needs, and how much senior year means personally to people—they have an important role.” The new audience changes the dynamic of campaigning as well. Jison says that “connecting with classes below you and fostering these relationships early on” is something that can help set a candidate apart.
The democratic process that goes into electing these candidates is also evolving as voting used to take place only outside of school. Ms. Savinovich expressed that something needed to change: “The voter turnout was around 60%, which is impressive, it was still higher than the national average. But as a teacher, I looked at it more as a D/D-.” To address this problem last year’s voting process also took place during lunch to encourage more student participation. This year, students got a chance to vote in homeroom, making it much easier to get a high majority of the student body to voice their opinions.
Coming up soon is the Legacy Lunch, where this year’s ASB will pass the torch onto next year’s officers. “We’ve definitely built a tight mentorship and a close relationship and it’s been cool to see that evolve and become more and more natural every year. I am so sad to see them all go,” said Ms. Savinovich. The transition period is an exciting but also bittersweet time as seniors leave and juniors prepare for their new roles. Jison hopes to see greater connection between the two classes in the next election: “I think that having meetings or even a quick chat with the current ASB leader whose position you are running for, would be a beneficial way to craft visions for the upcoming year and visualize yourself in this leadership role that carries a great amount of responsibility.”
