An unexpected sight greeted returning students in the first few weeks of school: class election posters taped to walls and doors.
Usually those posters show up in the spring, but this year for the first time in recent memory the freshmen class officer elections for the Class of ‘28 ended on Aug. 23. The results were announced on Aug. 26.
This was a change in timeline from the past, where campaigns and voting of incoming freshmen took place in the spring of their eighth grade year at Redwood Middle School. The ASB made the decision to push back the election process to the first two weeks of school after the freshman class entered high school.
The final results of this year’s election are as follows:
President: Chloe Zeng
Vice President: Vivian Li
Treasurer: Elsa Ren
Representatives: Zisu Chen, Edwin Wu
The ASB decided to delay the election process for the freshman class primarily in consideration of students coming in from other schools and districts and not just favor those who went to the immediate feeder school.
“The ASB wanted to make the elections a more inclusive process for all candidates regardless of where they went to middle school,” senior ASB president Alan Cai said. “By holding elections [in high school], we can ensure that every Saratoga student can have a chance to run, and the candidates and voters are aware of Saratoga High’s unique culture and needs.”
ASB’s decision was evidently impactful, as two out of the five elected officers: Elsa Ren and Edwin Wu, moved to SHS this year from different countries altogether. Ren from Canada and Wu from China.
A previously voiced concern of delaying the election was the lost profit in early fundraising opportunities. The school’s annual Food Truck Fest is usually hosted early on in the school year where each class office gets an early opportunity to fundraise for their class.
Since the freshman class office was vacant during the event, they did not get to choose a food truck and would practically lose out on fundraised revenues of about $200 to $350. However, the ASB was able to resolve this issue by setting aside some money for the freshmen.
Aside from the fundraising hurdle, Cai found few other changes due to pushing back the election.
“The only practical difference would be that the freshmen officially start leadership two weeks late, which was not a big problem because ASB covered most of their beginning of year activities such as setting up class [social media] accounts and [hosting for them in the] Food Truck Fest,” Cai said.
The shift in schedule has also postponed Homecoming Quad Day practices for the freshmen. Usually, practices for the smaller group dances start within the first week of school, or even before school starts.
Now that the elections have officially concluded, the freshman class office will take up a more active role in upcoming events.
“The election process was overall very satisfactory,” Cai said. “What was important for [the ASB] was that the freshman class could get a taste of what participating in the Democratic process would look like and that goal was largely realized. I am very excited for the freshmen to join us. The future of Saratoga is in strong hands!”