by Arhana Aatresh (’23) and Anika Jain (’22) | April 8, 2022
The Activities Office recently announced changes to the structure of student leadership to be implemented in the 2022-2023 school year. Starting next fall, Saint Francis’s Associated Student Body (ASB) will be composed of four elected officials and four appointed officials, with the Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion (SJEI) team; Campus Ministry; Rally Board; and Cage Captains each appointing one student. In previous years, ASB was solely composed of six elected officers, typically students from Junior Student Council.
Assistant Activities Director Mr. Zachary Herhold shared that the new ASB structure will allow for more delegation and improved communication. The appointed officials will be responsible for corresponding with their respective groups, whereas the elected officials will be able to choose their own roles depending on their interests. “I think sometimes when you have a group, responsibilities diffuse, and no one feels responsible for the task. By giving students ownership of more specific tasks, we’re hoping that the responsibility will make them more productive,” stated Mr. Herhold.
He hopes that the new ASB structure will strengthen commitment to ASB while minimizing the stress typically associated with responsibility. “I want to make it fun; I want them to enjoy [ASB], and then, they’ll hopefully make contributions and not feel as stressed.”
“We’re actually hoping that this will empower our [classes],” Mr. Herhold continued. While Freshman and Sophomore Student Council participation is high, membership tends to decline by junior and senior year. He added, “What we want to do is make that pipeline stronger, not weaker.”
Part of the initiative to promote involvement in student leadership is an elective class that will allow student leaders to collaborate during class hours without having to sacrifice time during collaboration or lunch periods. Mr. Herhold added that an early introduction to leadership at Saint Francis will allow freshmen to “hear from seniors…that the class [is] important, fun, and exciting,” which will encourage students to start considering the leadership class as early as their freshman year.
The new initiative is already being implemented. On April 4, the Activities Office organized a meet-and-greet during both lunches for the student body to learn more about this year’s ASB candidates. The Activities Office hopes to increase student body engagement and involvement with the election.
Ms. Grace Savinovich, a new addition to the Activities team this year, mentioned that the changes particularly resonate with her: “[The new structure] is something that when I think about why I got into education, it is very profoundly why. Turning students into thinkers and leaders and doers. When I look at the world, one of the big concerns that I have is that we’re just becoming apathetic to things.” She hopes to enable “all these students who want to do something and care enough to do something, but maybe are struggling with the how.”
