Every day students listen to the familiar voices on the intercom—telling jokes and reading morning announcements—but who are these witty students and just what do they do?
The Associated Student Body, or ASB, is the school-wide student government, as opposed to class officers who mainly focus on grade-level activities. The ASB is the facilitator of all student-run activities on campus, from clubs to commissions.
This year, the ASB is comprised of six highly motivated students: seniors president David Mandell, vice president Nina Mohanty, secretary Pamela Lee, treasurer Anthony Sutardja, head comissioner Uttara Sivaram and junior Board Representative Anshu Siripurapu. Although each job has an important role to play in the organization, everyone collaborates when it comes to projects like Club Day.
“The job titles are different than what we actually do because we all try to collaborate as a team,” said Mandell. “I think this is a really good team and I’m really excited to work with them.”
In addition to meeting every Monday at lunch, the ASB officers also hold night meetings that are open to the public every other Monday.
Early in the year, the ASB’s main focus is on Club Day, held Sept. 15. This year they are working to create more stringent guidelines for each club. Now new clubs will have a one month “trial period” in which an ASB member must attend every meeting to make sure there are at least 20 members and the club is legitimate. They are also working with the Events Commission on collecting soaps for soldiers in Iraq and planning other fundraisers for the school.
In previous years they have planned the winter formal, and this year the ASB is tentatively planning another event later in the spring. Mandell described this “Night Rally” as a “fun activity that involves the whole school.”
They hope that this event will help bring everyone together in a night filled with music and fun. The goal of this event and of the ASB in general is to break down social barriers and bring the school together.
So when you are dress shopping for winter formal or spending you lunch time at a club meeting, remember the group of students that made it happen.
